


The Very Reluctant Saviour Of The Wizarding World

by StellaStarMagic



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol, Character Death, F/M, Marijuana, Original Character(s), Promiscuity, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24917563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellaStarMagic/pseuds/StellaStarMagic
Summary: Just before her eleventh birthday, Violet Potter disappeared from the wizarding world's watchful gaze. When she was eighteen they found her again, but not the hero they were hoping for. Having spent most of her teen years in the streets, she now enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. Why save the world if you could just chill and toke?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 30





	1. Violet Potter

Middlesbrough at this time of year was a less than welcoming place.

It was cold, wet and the sky was kept a dreary grey by thick clouds. The streets were clogged with cars as people were on their way to work. Kids were chatting on the sidewalks with their friends as they were heading to school.

All of those things were happening as a pair of dull green eyes were forcing themselves to open up. A shiver ran through her body as she untangled herself from another body, her brain belatedly registering that they were both naked.

"Ah, shite," she muttered with a sigh as the memories slowly came back. She looked at her friend Jack, his sleeping form still kind of cute, even with his morning wood greeting her while his cheek was wet with his drool.

He had wanted to get in her knickers forever and sure, they had a couple or so drunken snogs. Sometimes they were high too. She definitely was no stranger when it came to the other sex, as she had had sex more than a few times with other guys.

Jack, however, was kind of a special case. She was the one who insisted on taking that street rat into their group of social misfits and outcasts, the kids that no one wanted.

She had been beaten black and blue by her uncle and aunt and ran away to save her own life. Jack was the son of a prostitute and ran away when he heard that her pimp wanted her to sell him to one of her Johns who expressed a...certain interest in him. Her best friend Mindy was a similar case to her – abused at home by her own family after a series of tragic events. Mindy hadn't been abused physically, but then, abuse had many shapes and forms. Jacob, the second guy in their group, was an orphan who ran away from his orphanage. Why he did he never explained, but they guessed he, too, had been abused in some way, like the rest of them.

In the end, all of them had their own stories and all of them ran away from their past lives.

They were unwanted by society, but they had found each other.

The girl looked through her makeshift drawer for a pair of fresh knickers before she headed to their bathroom.

Their group lived in an old apartment building in a poor part of the city, above a tattoo and piercing shop owned by a couple that allowed them to stay in one of the apartments. In return, they had to work and help in their shop for reduced pay.

Mr and Mrs Clarkson, the couple, had been in a similar situation as her friends and she had been, once upon a time, but the Clarksons pulled themselves out of it and made something out of themselves.

They earned good money, owned a building with several apartments and, while not rich, they certainly weren't doing badly for themselves, considering the cards life had handed to them back in their childhood.

"Morning, Vi," her best friend Mindy greeted her from under the shower with a sing-song voice, a knowing grin on her face.

"Shut up," was the only reply Violet Potter could come up with. She then pulled the mouldy curtain open and forced herself into the small shower next to her blonde friend.

Mindy was unfazed and simply handed her the showerhead while she shampooed her hair. "So, Jacky finally got to stick his dick in y-"

"You know, you could just say 'you shagged'."

"I could, but I don't want to."

Violet turned off the water with a sigh and held out a hand in which Mindy poured some shampoo. "Yep, we did it."

"So, how was it?" Mindy asked, eager for details. "It was his first time and he got to do it with his dream girl after all!"

Violet rolled her eyes at that. "What'd you think? Were you never some bloke's first time?"

"Uh-uh." Mindy shook her head no.

"It was kind of awkward because he was so tense and super excited, but he lasted longer than I thought he would. Less than five minutes if I had to take a guess."

"And? What now?"

Giving Mindy an unimpressed look, Violet let out another sigh. "If you are wondering about me getting together with Jack now, then no. That's the one line I absolutely refuse to cross with him. We snogged, we shagged, but I am not going to be his girlfriend. No bloody way. I enjoy my freedom too much to bind myself to one guy."

Mindy regarded Violet with a critical look before shaking her head. "Yeah, nah. Can't see you that way either. It'd be too weird."

They both chatted some more before they got out of the shower, Violet taking a towel before handing one over to her friend. After drying up and slipping into their knickers, they both shared the mirror to put on their make-up, which consisted of dark eyeliner for the both of them and they were lucky to have the luxury of an expensive brand because Mindy was really good at stealing things.

It wasn't like they needed those skills anymore, but when Mindy was younger it was a necessity so she could survive.

The Clarksons, while not paying them a lot since they basically got to live without rent, did pay them _some_ for the work they did at the couple's shop. They did not offer them discounts for any tattoos or piercings, though. They needed to pay fully for those.

Violet was working on a sleeve on her left arm, which currently was almost reaching her elbow. She also had, in addition to her earlobe piercings, the helix of her right ear pierced a couple of times. A ring in her right nostril completed her look.

"Do you have a shift today?" Mindy asked her as she was taking the brush from her since her makeup was done.

"Yep," Violet replied, popping the p. Her dark hair was barely reaching below her chin and while she would love for it to be longer, it simply was impossible to handle. More than once had she found herself cursing the person from whom she had inherited her hair. "Got to work the desk today."

"Not gonna lie, I hate that. Every couple of minutes some asshole calls for an appointment or to reschedule or whatever. I'd rather just clean up after hours."

"I know you do. You complain every time you work at the desk. I'm fine with it though. Hey, do you think a lip piercing would look good on me?" Violet asked as she was eyeing herself critically in the mirror, imagining herself with a ring at the corner of her lower lip.

"Yeah, I think so. Should be black though. You just pull off that dark look too well."

Satisfied with the answer, Violet left the bathroom, carefully stepping over empty bottles of various alcoholic beverages, chuckling at the face drawn on Jacob's naked bum. Then, she made it to her room. A fond smile stole itself on her face at seeing Jack in her bed, snoring away, oblivious to her presence. Pushing the bong in front of her closet away with a foot, she put on a bra, a finger subconsciously tracing that weird scar right under her breast. She shook her head and put on a pair of black jeans and a thin sweater.

Violet checked her watch and, after seeing that she still had another hour, went into the kitchen. She poured herself a small bowl of _Coco Pops_ and started eating, enjoying the chocolate-y goodness. A few moments later she was joined by Mindy, who, for reasons none of them understood, preferred _Frosted Shreddies_ to the chocolate-y breakfast the rest of them liked.

"What are you doing today?" Violet asked after swallowing her mouthful of cereal.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll come down later and hang around the shop for a bit."

"You know Mrs. Clarkson doesn't like it when you do that," Violet commented idly.

Mindy gave her a deadpan look in return. "She also doesn't like us doing drugs and you still were high and drunk yesterday."

Violet laughed at that. "She doesn't mind alcohol and weed."

"Ugh. I'm going to be so bored."

"I'm sure you will survive," Violet said with a shrug while she was rummaging in her black leather jacket, which was hanging from the back of her chair, for her cigarette packet.

Mindy held out a hand and, with a roll of her eyes, Violet pulled one cigarette out and handed it to her friend. After lighting one for herself, she leaned back and inhaled the smoke deeply, filling her lungs, then letting the smoke escape slowly.

"Men's best invention, without a doubt," Violet said while eyeing her cigarette fondly.

"What about weed though?"

Violet blinked once, then corrected herself with a grin. "You got me there. Men's second-best invention, then. After weed."

* * *

It was afternoon and Violet had worked a few hours at the shop already. Most of the time, it was pretty relaxing and she could not understand what it was Mindy hated so much about sitting around, leafing through a magazine, taking the occasional phone call. She really didn't have all that much to do since _Pearl Tattoo and Piercing_ wasn't really a big name in the scene.

"Vi, we have no more appointments after this one," Mrs Clarkson told her as she called in the nervous-looking bloke from the waiting area. "You can end your shift now. Be a dear and tell Jacob to come to help us clean up in about an hour."

"Will do. Bye, Mrs Clarkson," Violet replied as she typed in her working hours into the computer. Once done, she made her way out of the shop and immediately lit herself a cigarette.

She then pulled out her phone – a cheap prepaid since she didn't feel the need for fancy smartphones – and sent Jacob a message, telling him he needed to be ready in an hour for his job.

Moments later she got her answer, but not the one she was expecting. " _We were gonna come to the shop cuz some old lady rly wants to c u and she says she knows u. Come up._ "

Her eyebrows rose up high at that. She re-read the message a couple of times, then shrugged.

Putting her phone back into her jeans' side pocket and finishing her smoke, Violet entered the apartment building and went up the several flights of stairs to reach their apartment's floor. She really hated that there was no lift in the building but, considering that it was quite an old building, it wasn't really surprising in the end.

Slightly out of breath, Violet unlocked their apartment door and entered, curious about that supposed old lady. Taking off her sneakers, she made her way into their living room slash kitchen and did a double-take at the sight before her.

There was a woman in robes and a pointy hat, looking so very out of place and uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Mindy, Jacob and Jack were playing Super Mario Kart on the newest Nintendo console they all paid for together, after saving up for a bit.

"Uh...hi?" Violet spoke up, drawing the attention of everyone to her.

"Ms Potter, I assume? I am Professor Minerva McGonagall," the lady spoke up first with a thick Scottish accent. "It took us quite the effort to finally track you down after you disappeared from your relatives' home."

"Fuckin' hell, Vi! You've got your own stalkers!" Jacob exclaimed and looked more excited than he should be.

"And that is a good thing how, _you_ _cock_?!"

"I see we have to start from square one," the Professor interrupted them, showing no indication that she heard the cussing coming from Violet.

"Wait a minute," Violet began, her eyes suddenly widening. "McGonagall, you said? That's your name?"

"Yes, I did. I am pleasantly su-"

"You sent me that bloody letter about that stupid magic school, didn't you?"

"Miss Potter, I would prefer a priva-"

"Do you know what Vernon did to me after I read that shite and asked him about it?" Violet interrupted her again and didn't give her a chance to speak at all. "I'm almost blind on one eye because he smashed my face into the fucking staircase! He beat me into a bloody fucking pulp almost every day but not once did I actually fear for my life like I did after I read that fucking letter!"

McGonagall was seemingly at a loss and didn't know what to say and just as she was about to speak, Violet beat her to it again.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say. Get out of our apartment and don't come back. You and your kind, stay out of my life."

"Very well, Miss Potter," McGonagall spoke, her tone sounding more collected than she looked. "I will leave you for now. however, I will have to warn you that you may have to expect more visits like this. You are needed and have been absent from your des-"

Violet held out a hand to stop the old lady before she reached the point Violet assumed she was going for. "Seriously, I am about to call the fucking bobbies."

A sound of frantic scrambling on the floor drew everyone's attention to Jacob, just when he dashed into the kitchen. Before he left, Violet was sure she heard him say something along the lines of _'hide the weed_ '.

A look of distaste was barely visible on the Professor's face before she returned her gaze from Jacob to Violet. "I will take my leave then, Miss Potter."

"Yeah, you do that. You know where the exit is."

Violet watched McGonagall disappear in the corridor and the moment she turned around the corner and disappeared from sight, a loud bang sounded, surprising them all into a small jump.

"Was that a gunshot?" Mindy asked tentatively.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know...should we check?"

Violet could only shrug her shoulders as well. "Might as well..."

The three of them were on their way towards the door as Jacob joined them, coming out of his room. "Is she gone? I hid the weed, just in case you need to call the bobbies."

"Well done, mate," Jack gave him a thumbs up.

Violet signalled for them to be quiet before she leaned around the wall and peeked into the corridor leading to their apartment door. "No one's there," Violet muttered.

She turned around to the others. "Did any of you hear the door open or close?"

"Nope." "Nah." "No."

"Weird," was all Violet could say.

"So, Vi," Mindy began as the four of them returned to the living room, while she made a small detour towards the fridge to get a beer for each of them. "How about you tell us about that magic letter you mentioned earlier?"

"Really?" Violet groaned as she plopped down onto their single and old sofa. Jack sat down next to her on the sofa, his arm already sneaking around her shoulders.

"Hands off, mate," she muttered, annoyed, and once he retracted his arm and she had opened her beer, she began. "Just before my eleventh birthday I got this really weird letter addressed exactly to where I lived, right down to that bloody cupboard." Violet took a sip from her beer and glanced at her friends, the three of them hanging onto her every word. "I obviously read it because no one ever gave a shit about me, so I was curious and it said all that crap about magic. So, stupid me, I went and asked Vernon about it. Next thing I know, he took the letter and tossed me across the kitchen. Then he gave me the worst beating ever. Rest is history."

Mindy looked thoughtful before she spoke up. "It's kind of scary though that these people seem so bloody obsessed with you..."

"Bloody tell me about it..." Violet muttered while trying not to think about all those unexplainable things that happened during her horrid childhood. She was glad when something else entirely came to her mind. She checked her phone for the time before turning to Jacob. "You needed to be down at the shop ten minutes ago, mate."

"Oh shite!"


	2. The Mutt

Violet was sitting on her room's windowsill, only wearing a shirt and a pair of knickers and enjoying the light buzz from her joint while taking in the nightly view of Middlesbrough. A chill ran through her body when a cold wind touched her, but she didn't mind. She preferred the more chilly temperatures. For one, it was easier to deal with than hot temperatures – she just had to wear more or thicker clothing. Secondly, hot temperatures reminded her of the cupboard during the summer when she was not allowed outside. The humidity, the smell of her sweat, her aching belly and bladder because she didn't want to shit or piss herself.

It had been a truly terrible childhood she had endured and to this day she could not understand why the Dursleys did hate her so much. Could they have known about that _voodoo magic_ nonsense? It would explain why Vernon had completely lost it after she had asked him about that letter she got, at least.

It would be weird though, for the Dursleys of all people to have known about magic or whatever there was to know anyways. The perfect little family, as normal and average as it gets, aware of something that did not fit into their little bubble. It was a crazy thought, _mind-blowing_ even, and yet, it would explain so much.

She remembered a time when Petunia had decided to cut her hair. Violet had understood where the initial thought was coming from. Her hair had been a mess, impossible to tame unless she had planned on using a whole onslaught of hair products. On that day, Petunia had cut her hair, but that rotten woman didn't give a rat's arse how Violet had ended up looking. Even as young as she had been that day, she knew her aunt had made her hair even worse so she had ended up crying herself to sleep that night, wishing for her hair to grow back.

It had.

When she had shown Petunia what had happened the next morning, all excited about her new head of hair, her aunt didn't celebrate. Instead, Petunia had turned as white as a person possibly could.

Now, all those years later, that reaction wasn't as simple to explain as she initially thought. At first, Violet had thought of it as a _'this is not normal and freaks me out'_ kind of reaction. In hindsight it appeared to be more of a _'bloody fucking shite not this again'_ kind of reaction.

Maybe the Dursleys had been aware of some crazy things happening outside of their bubble. Maybe she was some sort of crazy Chloë-Moretz-in-Carrie kind of superhuman and had dragged some sort of _Secret Service_ into the lives of the Dursleys. Maybe that old lady was part of that secret service.

But then again, what kind of secret service had a magic school, sent things by mail and wore pointy hats?

Shaking her head and putting out her joint in her ashtray, Lillian made her way to the kitchen. After leaving her room, she passed their sofa. Jack and Jacob were going at it in a round of SmashBros while Mindy was painting her toenails.

Luckily, there were still a couple of slices of pizza left from their dinner, so those she could eat while heating up a couple of pizza pockets.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Mindy asked from her position on the couch, looking at her with a sympathetic expression on her face while resting the polish on her toenails.

"I think I'm Carrie," Vi answered as she was putting the plate with the pockets in the microwave. After grabbing a slice, she took a huge bite from one of the leftover pizzas in the pizza box. "That's probably why I'm being stalked, " she said after swallowing her mouthful.

"Would make sense, as crazy as it sounds," Mindy replied, her tone serious. "But you said that letter was about some school, right? That should mean there's more like you, right? And that you have some sort of powers, right?"

"It would be wicked if you had some sick abilities, Vi," Jacob threw in as he sent Jack's character flying. "Imagine if you could fly or be invisible."

"Nah, mate. I'm good with how my life is." Violet shrugged after finishing her second slice. She took out her plate from the microwave with an oven glove and put it on the counter to let it cool a bit. "I seriously don't need to deal with that shite."

"Why are we more curious than you are?" Jack asked her. "I mean, I'd want to know what all that crazy was about."

"Because you are not in my position, Jacky," Violet answered his question after opening a bottle of beer and taking a sip.

"Imagine some crazy old Scottish lady with a pointy hat –" Violet stopped for a moment because she had to giggle, "– imagine a woman like that about to tell you some shite about your destiny or something and all the while you just wanna chill and toke. Sure," Violet continued after she took a bite from her pizza pocket, "sounds kinda cool when it's not you being stalked, but believe me, I'd rather just work at the shop every other day and do nothing the rest of the time. Don't need some Prof X telling me about some mutants with superpowers."

"I guess. I'd still like to know what that lady's deal was, though."

"Tough break, mate," Violet shrugged, then took another big mouthful of her snack.

"Well," Mindy began, holding up a finger and grinning at Violet, "what's-her-face did say there'd be more visits like today, so all hope's not lost yet!"

Violet could only groan at that.

"But seriously, Vi," Mindy spoke again, "do you have any...you know, powers?"

Jacob immediately paused the game and turned around to look at her, followed by Jack. Now with the attention of all of her friends on her, Violet's shoulders sagged and she let out a resigned sigh.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But first, you will never tell anyone anything about this!" Her friends all nodded. "Second, those things only happened when I was super emotional, like angry or scared and haven't happened since I've arrived here."

Jack shivered at that. "That really sounds like Carrie, Vi."

"Told ya," Violet nodded sagely. "Anyways, the first thing I remember is my aunt cutting my hair so badly, I looked like a mangy dog. I cried myself to sleep that night and when I woke up, the next thing I knew, my hair was back."

"You mean it grew back?" Mindy asked.

"Yep, to the way it was before Petunia cut it," Violet confirmed.

"Be right back!" Jacob suddenly jumped up from the sofa and ran to his room. A moment later, he returned with a pen and a sheet of paper. They watched him sit back down on his spot and clear up some space on their small coffee table, which was cluttered with junk food, a full ashtray, beer and soft drinks. He then proceeded to use the new space to write on the paper and, once done, he returned his attention to her. "You can continue now."

Violet leaned over his shoulder to read what he wrote. _'Vi's superpowers: -can grow body parts.'_ Her only response was an unimpressed sigh. She decided that it would be best to just go on and be done with it. "Another thing was when I got beaten up, Vernon would sometimes leave a broken arm or rib. They would heal in a matter of hours." She glanced at Jacob's writing. _'Can regenerate.'_ A roll of her eyes later she continued. "The last thing is...one time, when my fat cousin and his friends wanted to beat me up during recess I ran away and suddenly I was on the rooftop of our school."

"Like...you teleported?" Mindy asked, eyes wide as saucers.

"Yep."

"It's no wonder they want you, Vi," Jacob said excitedly. "You can grow body parts, you regenerate broken bones and probably more _and_ you can teleport!"

"As I said, that shite hasn't happened since before my eleventh birthday," Violet waved it off.

"How'd you end up in Middlesbrough anyways?" Mindy asked her friend.

"I'm not exactly sure. I just remember Vernon beating me up, tossing me in the cupboard and passing out. When I woke up, I was somewhere in Albert Park, healthy – aside from my one eye that is. Never got proper vision back there...but yeah, I lived a bit on the streets, met some chill blokes who taught me how to steal and stuff like that, met you and the rest is history."

"So, your powers have been dormant for years now?" Jacob asked, his pen tapping against the paper on the table.

"Pretty much, yeah," Violet answered, then took a sip from her beer.

"No matter how many times you tell me about those 'chill blokes', I still can't get over how trusting and naive you were even after you were abused so badly by your uncle and aunt." Mindy shook her head in exasperation.

"Yeah, in hindsight I was dumb as a plank, but I lucked out," Violet replied after swallowing another big mouthful of her beer.

"Have you ever tried to grow, y'know, a dick?" Jack suddenly asked her and a moment later Jacob, Mindy and he were drenched as Violet burst out laughing, spitting her beer everywhere.

* * *

The next couple of days were peaceful for Violet. After having worked on the desk the other day, she had the next one off, something she used for sleeping in well into noon, playing video games and eating junk food. Days like these were which she enjoyed the most.

The following day she had cleaning duty, something she really did _not_ enjoy. It probably came with her being quite the slob in general. She knew how to clean properly, something she picked up early on in her life – when she hadn't been the Dursley's punching bag, she had been their slave, after all. Since she wasn't forced into it anymore, she just avoided it whenever possible.

It didn't matter in the end. She had to do the work either way, so there was no point in complaining.

So, Violet did just that when she went down to the shop at closing hours, helping the Clarksons clean up. She was mopping the floor while the couple was busy sterilizing their equipment and whatever else needed to be done. After about an hour and a half, Violet was finished and once she said her goodbyes she left the shop.

Outside, Mindy was waiting for her as they had a night out planned. Violet would be lying if she said she wouldn't rather be spending the evening smoking pot in only her knickers and a wide shirt but, every once in a while, she enjoyed a night out in a pub with Mindy.

Violet hugged the blonde in greeting, then they went on their way to their go-to watering hole. Violet pulled out her cigarette packet from her jacket and, after offering one to Mindy, lit one for herself.

"What are the boys doing?" Violet asked her friend as they kept a leisurely pace.

"The usual. Jack seemed kind of down, though."

"Really? Why?"

Mindy didn't say anything at first. After a few moments of silence passed between the two of them, the blonde answered. "After I told him that we go out to drink he got kind of quiet...if I had to take a guess I'd say he got jealous."

"What? Why?"

"Probably because he expects you to follow your going-out-to-drink-routine, which almost always ends up with you in some random bloke's bed."

Violet groaned in annoyance. "Bloody hell, Jack is this close to making me regret having sex for the first time ever." She inhaled the last of her cigarette deeply, then exhaled the smoke angrily. "You know what? Just so he _finally_ gets the bloody message I am going to get shagged tonight. I love him like I love all of you, but...bloody hell, he's dense."

"You got condoms?"

Violet took her wallet from her black shoulder bag and checked it only to find herself without protection. "Damn it!" She then had to blink at the foil wrapper in front of her face.

"I got you, girlfriend!" Mindy winked at her.

Snatching it from her, Violet quickly put it in her wallet. "You seriously are the best."

"Oh, I know, but I won't mind it if you keep repeating it a few more times."

Violet just chuckled at that and looped her arm through Mindy's as they chatted idly the rest of the way.

* * *

After walking for another few minutes, they reached their destination and, upon entering, found an empty table for themselves.

After ordering their drinks they kept chatting and just had a good time. It had been a couple of weeks since the two of them spent time together like this.

A couple of hours had passed and the two of them went outside for a smoke.

They went to the designated smoker area and soon enough they were puffing away.

The smoking area wasn't particularly crowded, but soon a couple of blokes joined them.

"Hey gorgeous, d'you have a light?" One of them asked Mindy who smiled prettily in return.

"I sure do," she replied, then took her lighter from her cigarette packet and handed it over.

"So why exactly do you keep cadging cigs from me if you obviously have your own?" Violet asked with a raised brow.

"Shut up, Vi."

Violet snickered lowly to herself as she watched her friend flirting with the guy while she also waited for the other guy to finally chat her up.

She had seen him glance at her several times inside and now, when Mindy and she went outside for a smoke, he was there too? They weren't even half as subtle as they thought they were.

Leaning against the pillar next to her, she looked around a bit, taking her time with her cig in the hopes that the guy would gain the courage to finally talk to her. He was kind of cute and became more so when she saw his friend push him in her direction, making him stumble a bit.

She had to bite her lips to stop herself from laughing, but her eyes betrayed her mirth.

"You saw that, didn't you?" He asked her and sounded as embarrassed as he looked.

"Yep."

"Hi, well...I'm Noah."

She then finally turned to fully face him, a small grin on her face. "Violet."

"That's a really pretty name and I'm not just saying that," he smiled at her.

Violet shook her head with a small smile.

"If I'd get a Pound every time a bloke used that exact line on me, I'd be very rich."

"You are not going to make this easy, are you?"

Grinning, Violet shook her head. "Nope."

She put out the stub of her cigarette before indicating to Mindy and her new friend that they were heading inside.

Once back at their table, Violet looked at Noah, who took a seat next to her, expectantly.

"Right, uh, so I've got to lead the conversation," he muttered to himself, obviously trying to quickly come up with a topic that could carry a conversation for a while.

Violet leaned back on the bench and crossed one leg over the other. "Of course."

"So, uh, what do you do for a living?" Noah asked her with a slight cringe at his own question.

"It's a good and easy opener," Violet told him, trying to get him to relax, "there's lots of conversations we can go to from there. I help out at a tattoo shop. Scheduling appointments and all that jazz. What about you?"

"I've actually started university a month ago at Teesside."

"Really? And what are you studying?"

"Crime, Forensic and Investigative Sciences," he stated proudly.

"That actually sounds really interesting, though I figured you to be one of those mathematics types."

Noah laughed in return. "Really? How come?"

"Dunno," Violet replied with a shrug. "You just gave me that kind of vibe."

"I honestly can't tell if I should be flattered or insulted," Noah muttered, though he couldn't stop chuckling.

"A little bit of both, I suppose." Violet shrugged. "What brings you here into this cheap pub, though? You had better options, I'm sure."

"My friend, Eric, he's a smoggie, so he had me see all Middlesbrough has to offer, the cheapest pubs included," Noah explained with a chuckle. "So, do you plan on going to university?"

"Nah, I didn't go to school beyond primary," Violet replied. "Most of my teen years were spent on the streets."

"No kidding?" Noah now leaned forward, looking very intrigued.

"Nope, no kidding. But I'm not going to tell you more than that, mate." She gave him a quick wink with a lopsided smile.

"That's fair. I'll be honest though, Violet. You are one interesting woman."

"Thank you very much," Violet grinned at him, "you aren't that boring yourself."

They looked at each for a few moments before Noah spoke again. "I really don't want this evening to end."

Violet raised both eyebrows at that. "Then show me how you want it to continue."

He blinked in surprise, his eyes widening ever so slightly at her invitation. Then he leaned forward, only hesitating a little bit.

Once their lips touched, Violet felt the by now familiar excitement kissing provided her with. She opened her lips slightly, a clear invitation which he quickly took, and she was glad he did.

It was obvious he had little to no experience, but his desire for her was palpable, starting from the moment he took her invitation to snog her with little hesitation, all the way to the enthusiasm with which he actually did it.

The spell was broken, however, when she was suddenly kissing nothing but air and a loud bang and shocked gasps filled the pub as the stunned band also stopped playing.

"Wha-"

"Violet!"

She turned towards the voice calling her, only to see a Mindy with a flushed face and swollen lips. She then returned her attention to Noah who was clutching his bruised face, looking at the assailant.

"What the hell, mate?!" Noah shouted at the guy, wincing at the pain surging through his cheek.

" _You_! You do not get to touch her!" The man growled out.

"Oy, tosspot!" Violet got onto her feet, pushing at the man. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I don't need some bloody bloke playing the knight in shining armour for girls he doesn't even know!"

"Hey, you two!" The bartender then called out to Violet and Noah. "Do you know this guy? Do I need to call the police?"

Violet looked at Noah and gave him a shrug; it was up to him.

"No need, but thanks. We'll just leave," Noah told the bartender and took Violet's offered hand as she helped him up.

"I'm really sorry, I have no idea who that guy is!" Violet told him. "Probably some drunk bloke who thought he could save a girl and get in her knickers as a reward."

"It's alright. I...better get going. Maybe...we could swap numbers?"

Violet cringed at that. "Sorry, I've only given my number to my friends and my boss. No hookup or fling or whatever else gets my number."

"Huh," Noah replied, his expression immediately turning frosty. "I see...well, good night then."

"Sheesh, another heart broken or what?" Mindy stepped up to her before hooking her arm through Violet's and leading her out of the pub and home.

"It was probably for the best, though," Violet shrugged. "Pretty sure he hadn't even kissed before tonight. He obviously wanted me, which was great, but my mouth was full of tongue and spit. He would've made the second virgin this week."

Mindy just laughed at her but Violet wasn't mad; she just chuckled in good humour.

"Violet Virginity Popper. Sounds like a great porn title to me." Mindy giggled.

"Shut it, will you. I need a bloody smoke," Violet muttered. She fished in her handbag for her packet, then glared at Mindy. "You will smoke your own!"

" _Fine_."

Both of them kept on walking and bantered some more when Mindy suddenly stopped them. "Don't freak, but I think someone is following us."

Violet stiffened noticeably and slowly turned around. And indeed, there was a man trying to look inconspicuous as he leaned conspicuously against a wall.

"I've bloody had it tonight," Violet muttered angrily through the cig between her lips. She stalked up to the bloke and he moved from the wall and under the streetlamp, making himself completely visible.

"You have got to be shitting me. It's that bellend who socked Noah!"

"Violet, let me explain!"

"How the hell do you know my name?" Violet asked with narrowed eyes.

"He probably heard me shout it earlier," Mindy suggested, but the man shook his head.

"No...I've known you my whole life, even if I couldn't be there for most of it..." The man ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. "I'm Sirius Black...your godfather."

Initially, Violet didn't know how to react to what she just heard, but then she just scoffed. "Bullshit. You obviously are drunk, high or both. Leave me alone." She then turned to Mindy. "Let's go home."

"Violet, wait! I can prove it! I knew your parents!"

"I neither know what they look like nor do I know their names. They mean nothing to me," Violet waved it off as they kept walking.

"Look, I know you got off the wrong foot with Minerva...Professor McGonagall-"

This time Violet spun around, her furious expression visibly surprising the stranger.

"So you're one of _those_ people. You actually are one of those wankers who stalked me across _bloody England_. And you actually stoop so low, lying to an orphan, a kid who lived on the streets for almost five years, about family, just to make me listen to your bull. _Fuck you_ ," Violet spat, "fuck you and everyone who has anything to do with you." She then turned back to Mindy. "Let's go. Please," she said to her friend with a notable quiver in her voice, something she apparently didn't miss since Mindy wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Violet felt terrible, but at least she had a best friend in Mindy.

* * *

Violet had been in her room for half an hour now. Not once, since leaving the Dursleys, had she felt this vulnerable. She hadn't believed the man and yet, the slightest flicker of hope had appeared and pretty much a couple of sentences later he had snuffed it out.

She felt humiliated because it actually stung that this creepy stalking stranger was not who he claimed to be. He was not family. He was just another of those crazies and a heartless one at that.

A low sigh escaped her. She inhaled the last bit of her joint while leaning against the windowsill, enjoying the breeze of the night.

The doorbell suddenly rang and Violet tried to listen in from behind the closed door of her room, but couldn't make out anything because of the sound of traffic outside.

A few moments later, there was a knock on her door.

"What?"

"Vi?" Mindy's voice sounded soft and comforting, always a ray of light even when Violet was at her moodiest. She was the best possible friend.

Violet opened the door without questioning and the traitor Mindy was standing there, a guilty smile on her face, with that tosspot Sirius Black right at the door to her room.

"Please hear him out, Vi," Mindy said with a bit of urgency in her voice. "I think...I think he could be telling the truth..."

"And why would that be?" Violet asked with narrowed eyes.

"He says he has pictures...and wants to show them to you."

"What would that even prove? I have never seen a single picture of my parents. I don't know their names. I don't know what I looked like as a baby because I have never seen a single baby picture of me. The first picture ever taken of me was when Mrs Clarkson gave us this apartment and you took a picture of me in my room after it was done. _I was_ _sixteen_."

"Please Violet...just give me this chance, I promise, I can prove it to you," Sirius Black spoke up and he looked like he was about to just drop to his knees and beg her. She couldn't do that to a grown man without feeling bad.

"Alright, fine. If this turns out to be a waste of time I get half of your stash of weed," Violet threatened, but she was surprised and suspicious because of how readily Mindy agreed to her terms.

"You alright, Vi?" Jacob asked her and she gave him a smile in return, which was enough for him.

She sat down next to Jack on the sofa and was glad his arms stayed where they belonged for once, Sirius sitting to her other side and Mindy next to him. Jacob was behind the sofa, standing.

"Alright. Show me your proof," Violet demanded.

Sirius looked at Violet's friends before scratching the back of his head nervously.

"It's not that easy..."

"Your weed. Now," Vi demanded with a hand stretched out towards Mindy.

"It's not that I can't prove it, it's...the pictures are of a certain kind..."

"What kind?" Violet asked, suspicion clear as day in her voice.

"I could get in a lot of trouble if I showed them to your friends... there are your parents, there's you..."

She suddenly felt very sick to her stomach. "Are you telling me you have...pornographic pictures o-"

"No! Merlin, no..."

" _Merlin_? What the hell..." Violet felt more and more confused.

"What...did your aunt...what did Petunia tell you about your parents?" Sirius finally asked.

"You know Petunia?" She couldn't deny her surprise at his immediate nod. "Aside from them dying in a car accident because my father was driving while drunk – and all that with me in the backseat – they told me fuck all."

"Typical," Sirius muttered into his hands, a look of consternation on his face. "I should have known, I should have expected this..."

"Can you please just bloody tell me what the hell is going on?" Violet started to get annoyed.

"Screw it, I don't care if your friends hear or see this. You are a witch, Violet. A real witch who can do magic," Sirius spoke as he looked her straight in the eyes.

Violet got up from her seat and went to her jacket hanging from one of the chairs at the kitchen counter to search for her cigarettes. She quickly lit one and took a deep drag. "So," she said while exhaling the smoke from her lungs, "all that shite I did at the Dursleys...healing my bones, teleporting myself somewhere else, growing my hair back..."

"It's magic. All of it," Sirius confirmed with a smile.

"Huh." Violet turned around so he and her friends wouldn't see how freaked out she was, her eyes as wide as saucers. "A-And why do you people keep looking for me?"

"Because we need you." It was a simple statement and yet it made no sense to Violet.

"Need me _how_? I can't do any bloody magic."

Sirius rubbed his face. "There was a war a few years back...blood purists...against the rest, basically. It was a bit more complex but you get the idea. Back when your parents were at Hogwarts, the elite magic school, the purists started recruiting. Your parents fought too...soon after they graduated your mum got pregnant with you and then a prophecy was made-"

"Hold up!" Violet interrupted the story. "Don't tell me my parents got killed over some stupid prophecy if what you are telling is even true at all."

"Everything I am telling is the truth. I have no reason to lie, at all," Sirius gave her a sad smile. "But your parents weren't targeted over the prophecy. You were. They gave their lives so you could live."

Violet didn't say anything to that. It all sounded fake to her ears, too unbelievable, too fantastical. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't.

"How about I show you those pictures?" Sirius spoke into her silence.

"Alright..." She wasn't ready. She absolutely was not.

Sirius dug into the pocket of what looked like a tattered, old robe and pulled out a stack of pictures. He looked for one in particular and handed it to her.

At first, she had to blink because there was a baby and a redheaded woman holding that baby and they both were moving. The picture was moving.

"Fuck me, these are moving," came the exclamation from Jack and soon it was followed by Jacob's 'this is crazy'!

Violet, however, couldn't tear her eyes away from the baby wearing a onesie that had the name Violet on its front. And the woman holding her was her mother. Her mother looked at her with such unconditional love and devotion and the picture was moving. Her mother kissed the top of her head and without realizing it, her free hand touched that same spot on her own head, as if the kiss might have lingered over all those years long past.

For the first time in the eighteen years of her life did Violet get to see her mother. For the first time in eighteen years did Violet see what she had lost, what she had never had. Seeing this picture, seeing this memory of something she could never remember was like a cruel dream. She didn't realize the tears started to fall until Mindy came to her friend and took the still-burning cigarette from her hand before she wiped away the tears and pulled her into the hug that would break her apart. Fractions of a second later, Jack and Jacob joined in as she mourned a memory she would never remember.


	3. The Mutt Pt.2

Violet's sobbing subsided into sniffles.

Her face, wet with tears and snot, was still buried into the shoulder of her best friend, staining her blouse, but she didn't want to let go.

A muffled _'sorry'_ escaped her still, causing Mindy to just give her a gentle squeeze in return.

"Shh, sweety," Mindy soothed her while rubbing her back, "you have nothing to be sorry about. If I was in your place I would have broken down too, I'm sure."

"Y-you guys don't have a family either..."

"Yeah, but at least we knew our families didn't give a shite," Jacob commented and it was the first time he mentioned something about his family, even if it was just in passing without really saying anything. "What your uncle and aunt did was messed up though...they lied to you and made it look like your parents were drunk idiots who didn't give a shit about you or your safety...that's just wrong."

Violet couldn't help the small smile breaking through the teary, snotty and make-up-y mess her face had become and she let out a content sigh. "I love you guys."

"We love you too, Vi," Mindy said with another gentle squeeze.

Reluctantly, Violet slowly removed herself from the impromptu group-hug. "Sorry, I kind of messed up your blouse," she cringed at the make-up stains on Mindy's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll just change out of it. You just go and wash up real quick."

Violet gave her friend a quick nod, and the guys a grateful smile before she dashed into the bathroom. She heard Sirius's low murmuring. He was probably talking with Jack and Jacob. He was a curious man, she had to admit. In some ways, she did feel drawn to him, that was undeniable, but ultimately there still was just too much apprehension, too much uncertainty when it came to him. Most of all, however, she still had no clue what exactly his motives were.

What did he want from her? Why had he looked for her? Why did he appear only now? Where had he been all those past years? She had too many questions and too few answers and it was time to change that.

Feeling refreshed after washing her face thoroughly, she left the bathroom, the rest of her friends chatting with Sirius while looking through the pictures.

Sirius looked up from the pictures and was about to get up, but Violet held up her hand to stop him. "I have several questions I need answers for and you will give them to me straight. I don't care about your secret magic bs."

"Bs?" Sirius asked with slight confusion.

"Bullshit," Jack explained.

Sirius nodded. "Oh. Of course, I will answer all of your questions."

"Good," Violet answered as she lit herself another cig. Tonight seriously was stressful. Ignoring Sirius's disapproving look, she took a deep drag before exhaling slowly, feeling herself relax. "So," she began, "let's start things off easily. What're my parents' names?"

"James Potter and Lily Potter née Evans," he answered wistfully. He clearly missed them terribly.

"What was your relationship with my parents?"

"James and I...we were the best of friends; more like brothers, really," he answered with a smile and that statement made Violet look at Mindy. Their relationship was really similar. They were more like sisters than anything else. "Your mother, on the other hand," Sirius continued, "I'm pretty sure she wasn't my biggest fan...or ours, for that matter."

"Why?" Violet asked, leaning against the kitchen counter as she finished her cigarette and put it out in the ashtray there.

"Well, your dad, I and two other friends – Remus Lupin and _Peter Pettigrew_ –" Sirius viciously spat out the last name, which she noted for a later question, " – we were kind of pranksters," he answered with quite a bit of pride.

"I see. And how did my mum fit into that?" Violet asked, feeling odd about how easy it was to say 'my mum' when she barely used those words before if she did so at all.

Sirius now looked uncomfortable, something that piqued her curiosity. "You see...your mum had this friend, Severus Snape...he was a really awkward kid back in the day, really into dark magics...your mum was his only friend, they knew each other from before school and your dad didn't like that since her crushed hard on your mum since pretty much the beginning..."

"So you bullied him." It was more of a statement than a question and she knew it was true. Her dad and his best friends were bullies because her dad was jealous of a kid who's only friend was her mum whom he happened to like. It was pure pettiness and she hated it.

"If you say it like that it sounds kind of bad-"

"Because it _is_ bad. Bullying is bad and you did it for such a stupid reason too. Every reason used to bully someone is a stupid reason, but what you offered is really bloody pathetic."

Sirius let his head drop a bit with a sigh. "We were stupid kids."

"I've known stupid kids who didn't bully, so let's just be real here, alright? You guys were major arseholes. It's no wonder my mum didn't like you guys at first." Violet huffed, not liking it at all that one of her parents had been a bully. "What changed?" she asked Sirius.

"Well, you see, to understand the whole situation you need to know something about our school at first: Hogwarts has four houses named after the four founders of the school: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Gryffindor and Slytherin are said to have had a big falling out regarding the philosophy of the school, so Slytherin left. He wanted the students to be pureblooded, so no muggle-borns or half-bloods – muggle-borns are children of two non-magical parents and half-bloods have one magical and one non-magical parent, by the way – should be allowed to school. The other three founders were all against it, naturally, and Gryffindor was said to have been especially vocal about it and, well, thus the rivalry between the two houses was born." Violet was listening with rapt attention as were the other three.

"Now," Sirius continued, "the students get sorted into each of the houses based on certain characteristics the founders prided themselves in. Your mum got sorted into Gryffindor and Snape into Slytherin. That was already something that caused their relationship to grow more distant," he explained, looking at Violet as she scoffed and shook her head, "but they still made it work most of the time. Over the years, things got worse though. Your mum was a muggle-born and tensions in the wizarding world grew higher with rumours about a Dark Lord recruiting to move against exactly those students with non-magical parents. Slytherin was the main target for recruitment as it housed the, by far, largest portion of extremist purebloods and Snape was, for a while, targeted by them because he was a genius in potions. One day, when our group was...especially bad to Snape, your mum came in to help him and...in his anger and frustration, I suppose, he called her a...mudblood."

"Dunno what that means but it doesn't sound nice," Violet commented dryly.

"It basically means her blood is dirty, which is a terrible thing to say in the wizarding world," Sirius explained seriously. "Anyways, that was pretty much the point at which their friendship ended. Your dad, I, Remus and Peter, we jumped in after he called her that, but she would have none of it. She said your dad was just as bad as Snape. Well, after that, everything changed a bit. Lily became more involved in her own house and made Head Girl, James – and the rest of us too, for that matter – we stopped being gits and James made Head Boy. She finally saw that maybe James wasn't as bad as she thought and decided to give him a chance."

Violet only gave a nod once the story ended. This was the most she had ever heard about her parents and from a direct source too. It was a lot to digest, especially since she had to find out that her father was a bully. She definitely felt more drawn to her mother and didn't like what she learned about her father one bit. It made her feel guilty even though there was no reason to feel that way. Who'd want to be the child of a huge bully?

"Are you alright, Vi?" Jacob asked her and she smiled in return.

"Yeah, just thinking..."

Sirius fidgeted a bit before speaking. "I just want you to know that James wasn't as bad as this story makes him out to be, Violet. He was a good man who loved you and your mother so very much. I don't want you to think badly of him because of our childhood shenanigans."

Violet scoffed at that. "One's childhood shenanigans are another's childhood terrors."

"I...understand. I didn't-"

"Look, mate...I appreciate what you are trying to do. My dad obviously meant a lot to you and if he was truly such a terrible person I doubt you would feel that way." She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment, then continued. "It's a fact, though, that you and your little group were a bunch of twats during most of your school years."

"You certainly have a way with words," Sirius coughed into his fist uncomfortably.

"Whatever. I have another question if you are up for it." Violet was still leaning against the kitchen counter, her arms crossed below her chest.

"Of course! I don't mind," Sirius agreed readily.

"Tell me about the other two of your clique."

"Alright...let's start with Remus. He's a werewolf."

Violet choked on a drink, Mindy gasped in excitement and Jack raised both of his eyebrows impossibly high while Jacob just faced Sirius sceptically. "But he's the scary type, right? Walks on two feet and doesn't look like your average wolf?"

Mindy was looking at Jacob in annoyance. "Seriously? Again that passive-aggressive shitting on _Twilight_?"

"I can be actively aggressive if you want," Jacob challenged her but Mindy wasn't backing down.

"Try it, if you think you'll survive the consequences."

"Please, you two! Can't we just finally agree that it's about one's personal taste?" Violet groaned in annoyance. Whenever Twilight was brought up it would go exactly as it did just now.

"I don't know what is going on but yes, werewolves are basically really big, really scary humanoid wolves," Sirius explained, his expression somewhere between confusion and humour. "Anyways, Remus is kind of the bookish type. He was and still is the voice of reason."

"Are werewolves...y'know, common?" Violet asked him.

"No, they aren't. They also have very few rights and the fact that Remus is a werewolf was kept under wraps during our school year. We just found out at some point and we thought it'd be more bearable for him if he had company during his changes so we decided to become animagi and surprised him," Sirius told them with a boyish grin.

"What's an animagi?" Mindy asked Sirius.

"An animagus – animagi for plural – is a witch or wizard who can change themselves into an animal at will. It's a really dangerous and complex procedure and we were extremely stupid to do so without adult supervision but, well, we managed."

"So...you can change into an animal?" Jack asked, eager to see it.

Sirius took the invitation to show off in stride and he certainly did get his desired effects. Violet's eyes popped wide open as she stood there, frozen with her beer in hand, Mindy squealed in excitement and immediately went to pet the giant dog, Jack jumped backwards over the arm of the sofa and fell on his arse while Jacob scooted backwards to take Jack's end of the sofa.

Once Sirius changed back, things got a little awkward as now Mindy was petting an adult man's face but both just silently agreed to pretend it didn't happen.

"Holy fucking shite." Violet couldn't say anything else after seeing an actual person change into a huge dog and back. How could that be real? "Guys, did we at some point start using LSD or shrooms and just forgot about it?"

"I'm questioning my own sanity right now, mate," Jacob said with a shaking voice.

"What is LSD and shrooms?" Sirius asked them, looking suspicious.

"Nothing important," Violet waved his question off before quickly changing the topic. "So, what about that Peter bloke?"

"That dirty traitor," Sirius growled and Violet could barely believe her ears how dog-like he actually sounded.

He went on to explain to her how the Fidelius Charm worked and his and Peter's and some Dumble-something's roles in it.

Again, she felt things she couldn't really describe. Her mind started to feel numb with all those new things she learned and found out about her parent's lives and deaths.

The only thing she knew for certain was that she could never ever find it in her to forgive the lies Petunia had told her. The abuse? Maybe someday when she was older and so bored that forgiving people for terrible things would sound like a great pastime. The lies, however – no, there was no chance in hell.

She lit another fag and threw the now empty packet into the trash before she regarded Sirius with a calculating look.

"Where were you all those years?"

"In prison," Sirius stated bluntly.

"Really, now?" Violet chuckled. "Why?"

"Because I chased after Peter when he was looking for his destroyed master," Sirius mumbled with obvious regret. "He ran, I chased him, in a street full of muggles he shouted how I betrayed Lily and James and how it was my fault they were dead. Then he faked his death by blowing up the street, killing several muggles. He changed into his animagus form – a rat, fittingly – and disappeared. All he left behind was a finger."

"That's rough, mate," Violet commented after exhaling a cloud of smoke. "So you were framed and put in prison. Why are you out?"

"Well, at first I broke out five years ago, but coincidentally Remus was teaching at Hogwarts that year. We – our group – created a very detailed map of Hogwarts in our school years. It showed every nook and cranny of the castle and the positions of everybody within, no matter if they were animagi or invisible."

"So, that Peter-bloke was found by that Remus-bloke thanks to that stalker map you had created all those years ago," Violet concluded.

"Pretty much, yes."

"So you've looked for me since then?" Violet asked, her voice suddenly smaller than she would have liked.

"Of course! Why would that even be a question?" Sirius insisted.

"Just making sure. And you actually wanted to see me? And not because of that bloody prophecy?"

"Yes," Sirius nodded earnestly. "I wanted to see you. I wanted to see why you weren't at Hogwarts when I found out that you weren't. I wanted to make sure you are doing okay."

"Okay." Violet turned and put out the cigarette in the ashtray, hiding the fact that a happy little smile was firmly etched onto her face. She still wasn't exactly sure about Sirius Black, but he did seem to genuinely care about her and that was a huge, huge thing for her.

Until she became friends with Mindy she had had no one. Sure, those old blokes that taught her the art of being homeless helped her out, but they did it to save their own conscience and not because they cared for her. _'Can't face the Lord if I left a girl to fend for herself in the streets, I can't.'_

But Sirius...he was the first from her parents' lives who had looked for her. It felt good. Really, really good.

But there was still something. "What's this bs about my destiny and that prophecy, though? You did say something about Peter's 'destroyed' master. He's dead then, right?"

"There are rumours that he's returned. He hasn't shown himself yet, but his followers – Death Eaters –"

Violet snorted at that. "Death Eaters? Really? That's...so dorky."

"Well, there is probably less mystique and fear associated with that title if you haven't grown up hearing the stories of their deeds or lived at the height of their power to see them." Sirius shrugged. "Anyways, his followers are very active again. People start disappearing without a trace, ministry officials are being found dead in their homes. What's happening these days is eerily similar to just before the last war started."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I still don't see why I should care. I'm no part of your world and I don't want to be." Violet shrugged, then rummaged around the kitchen and reappeared with a box of _Jaffa Cakes_. She went to the coffee table and sat down on the floor, opening the box and removing the cakes from the clear plastic wrap before taking one for herself. "I'm living a good life and I don't want to waste my best years risking my life for people I couldn't give a rat's arse about. Want some?" She held out a cake for Sirius, but after he didn't make an indication of taking her up on her offer, she shrugged again and took a bite for herself.

"It's your war too, Violet. People are dying in your name, hopi-"

"Then they are fucking planks, mate! Don't guilt-trip me into this. I don't even know what I supposedly did."

Sirius looked at her with disappointment in her eyes. "He shot a killing curse at you and you survived with nothing but a scar."

Violet's eyes widened in realization as her hand shot just below her chest. So _that's_ what they were after. _That's_ what they wanted from her. "It all makes sense now," she muttered before she turned to Sirius. "You think I'm invincible or something. You literally want to throw me in to catch a couple of hocus-pocus for you."

"No! That's not it at all!" Sirius exclaimed but Violet just looked at him with resignation. Again she had allowed herself that little ember of hope, again he pissed all over it.

"Nothing else makes sense. I can't do any magic. I don't even have any normal education. You magic blokes really are twisted, mate," Violet muttered, her disappointment palpable.

Jacob got up from his seat, as did the rest of her friends. "We're gonna have to ask you to leave, man. I doubt you are welcome back."

"Violet..." Sirius tried again but she just looked at him with a sad smile.

"Deep down I hoped we could bond, y'know," she whispered and shrugged helplessly, "and I fell for it twice. I don't know if you really believe I'm some invincible superhero but you still wouldn't allow me to make my own choices. You still believe I have a duty to you and your ilk. You can't fool me a third time. Leave. Don't come back. Your world can tear itself apart for all I care. Now leave please and don't come back."

Sirius gave her a pleading look. "Violet, he will hunt you down. One way or another he wants to finish what he started."

" _Leave_."

Finally accepting defeat, Sirius got up from the sofa. He rummaged in his robe and pulled out what looked like a piece of a broken mirror. "If you change your mind or if you need me for anything – anything at all – then say my name to the mirror. I'll leave you be." He put the mirror onto the coffee table and moved towards their apartment door before he turned to Mindy. "I'm sorry I used a charm on you so you would let me in." He then turned in place and with a loud bang, that made all of them jump, he was gone.

Mindy then turned to the others. "Wait, he did what?!"


	4. The Golden Trio

_Pure bliss_.

That was how Violet would describe the past couple of weeks since her godfather's attempt to sway her into the wizarding world's war. Everything went back to how it was supposed to be.

Since Sirius left after his visit there wasn't anything unconventional going on anymore. She could just go back to enjoying life and, as a little celebratory gift, she got the black side lip piercing she had already been thinking about.

Violet could just go back to being Violet and do Violet things and that was exactly how she loved to live her life: smoke, drink, get high and shag to her heart's content. _That was the life_. She felt oddly rejuvenated even and had more fun than she had before.

Maybe it was the certainty of freedom her _fuck you_ to the wizard wankers had provided her with, or maybe it was something else entirely.

Ultimately, it didn't matter to her. She got her life back to the way it used to be and that was what counted.

* * *

Violet was sitting on the sofa in nothing but a pair of pretty lacy knickers and a white, loose shirt with a fag between her lips. She was painting her toenails the same rich red her fingernails were painted with. On their shared laptop she had her favourite rock playlist running its second loop while she was humming to each song.

She was alone at home with Jack, who was currently using the shower for himself. It was late in the afternoon and the four of them had a trip to the local Irish pub planned, where the local band of a regular customer of the tattoo shop would be playing tonight. Mindy and Jacob were still busy for another half hour at the shop before they could get ready themselves, which would give them just enough time to still have a chance for a good table – and enough time for her to have a quick snack.

Jack exited the shower, wearing only boxer briefs, and he went straight to his room while still drying his hair with his towel. Violet's gaze lingered for a moment on his half-naked form, then returned to her task with a smirk.

Jack _was_ a good bloke. He was a couple of months younger than her, which made him the baby of the group even though he too was eighteen years old, and the most soft-spoken of the four of them. At first, he was somewhat distant and only joined them in doing anything when Violet asked him to and it always fell onto her to do so since she was the one insisting on taking him in. At first, things went well too, until she slowly started to see signs of him liking her more than she had wanted him to. Violet wasn't the romantic type, to begin with. She doubted she would function well in a relationship with someone so she simply didn't bother entering one. When Jack had kissed her one drunken night out, she had been surprised at first, but that had gone away quickly enough and had turned into a full snogging session. She had had tons of those with lots of blokes, so, she hadn't read too much into it, even though, in the far recesses of her mind, she had feared – even back then – that Jack would read more into it than she had, which, in the end, he did.

But she still had kept her own lifestyle up and he hadn't made another move until a couple of months later when they had ended up snogging again. That time she had been sober and that time she had forced herself to stop to make it clear to him that it meant nothing more to her than it would have with some nameless bloke in a cheap pub. He had looked hurt but still accepted, so they had snogged for a bit longer. Snogging was fun after all.

And then they ended up sleeping together. She had no problem with the fact that she had had sex with a friend. However, she did have a problem with the fact that said friend was now becoming a seriously clingy problem. He had tried to spend more time with her, which she found great at first, but then he had tried to hold hands with her the other day when they went into the city and boy, did that day become awkward afterwards.

Taking one last drag of her cigarette, she put it out after exhaling slowly. Resting her feet on the coffee table, she let the polish rest.

"Jack!" she called out and he opened the door while he was still putting on his shirt. "Bring me a bag of crisps, will ya?"

"Sure," he said and went to one of their cabinets – which they used to stockpile their junk food in – and took a bag. He was about to toss it to her, but she patted the spot on the sofa next to her and his shoulders slumped.

She was sure he knew what was up. "We need to have a chat, mate," she said as seriously as she could.

He did as she asked and sat down next to her, handing her the bag of crisps which she promptly opened up and shoved a healthy handful into her mouth. After a little difficulty swallowing her mouthful of the salty snack, she turned to her friend. "You know what this is about, don't you?"

"Yeah..."

She sighed at the miserable bloke in front of her. If he wasn't such a good friend she'd wave it off with a comment about how _this was life_. It still was life and he was a big boy and had to learn to deal with it, but he also was a dear friend, so she couldn't just wave it off. "Look, mate...I said look, so look," she said, irritated because he looked everywhere but in her general direction. "I know you fancy me, which is kind of flattering but also becoming...annoying," she began and ignored his pained look at her blunt choice of words. "You have to get over it. You have to stop trying to rope me into a relationship with you because it's not going to happen."

"Why, though? I think it could work if you'd just give us a chance!" Jack insisted over the crunch of Violet chewing her crisps.

"There's no us in the sense you want, mate. You are a friend who got to shag me once and it even was your first, so good on ya. But that's as us as it gets and you've got to accept that. I really like our friendship, Jacky, and I don't want to lose it and make things weird and awkward for Jacob and Mindy because _you_ keep holding onto something that's not going to happen. So, _please_ , don't make me regret being your first because I actually was happy to be that for you. _As a friend_."

"Yeah, that was kinda great," Jack muttered with a grin.

Violet raised an offended eyebrow. "Just 'kinda'?"

"No, I meant it was amazing!" He then relaxed from his near panic and chuckled at Violet's teasing grin. "You are a twat...so, there's really nothing you see that way...?"

"Nope." Violet popped the 'p', then popped a crisp in her mouth, the bag already half empty.

"I really was hoping...I dunno. You are just...really special." Jack sighed in resignation. He looked like a kicked puppy, but that would not sway Violet. She was more of a cat person, anyway.

"That's sweet, mate, and I honestly appreciate you thinking that, but believe me, we will have more fun as friends. You, Jacob and Mindy...I'd never trade what we have now – our friendship – for anything else in the world. I don't know and I don't care how any of you think about being with each other as boyfriend and girlfriend – I mean, it just leaves Mindy as the girlfriend and, dunno, I can't see either of you blokes as her boyfriend, but yeah...beyond really great friends who shag there's nothing else I can offer you, and even shagging is off the table for now until you are over your feelings, mate."

He deflated even more at that. "Really? "

"Yep." Violet popped the 'p' again before popping the last crisp in her mouth.

* * *

The four of them arrived at the pub and Violet and her friends were waving at the regular from the shop while he was setting up the final pieces of equipment. They found a table which wasn't too badly positioned and soon enough they could each order a pint of Guinness.

"You two seem less...uncomfortably awkward than before," Mindy commented after observing a different kind of interaction going on between Violet and Jacob.

"We had a chat and I made him see reason," Violet said then took a sip of her Guinness. "Couldn't keep going on like that when we could have this instead."

"Sorry mate," Jacob patted Jack on the back in a comforting manner, "but I did warn you."

"Yeah, you did..." Jack shrugged with a self-deprecating smile.

Violet raised a brow. "What do you mean, you warned him?"

Jacob shrugged. "I just said you'd never settle for one guy and that he should give it up."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, that's true. Hey, the band's ready I think," Violet said as she turned her attention to the band who introduced themselves before they started to play. After the first minute, she had to say they kind of reminded her of _Arctic Monkeys_ , whom she adored. She quickly started bobbing a leg with the music and just enjoying life in general.

Soon enough the band's first song was over and they received a well-deserved round of enthusiastic applause, which seemingly made them more relaxed.

"They are great!" Mindy said and Violet agreed.

A few more songs were played and the group enjoyed a night in each other's company with song and drink. After a while, there was a break in the music and the four of them went out as they wanted to smoke.

They chatted a few minutes while smoking and Jack even got to exchange phone numbers with a girl, which prompted Violet to ruffle his hair, much to his visible annoyance. On their way back to the entrance, just as they were about to enter, someone touched Violet's shoulder with a firm grasp. Confused, she turned around, but something bright flashed right at her and the sound of something shattering could be heard, making the person grasping her stop. Another light flashed, this time in red, and the person just collapsed. There were gasps and cries going around as Violet tried to comprehend what just happened in a matter of seconds.

"What the hell happened to that bloke?" Jack asked, looking at the seemingly unconscious man in front of them. He was wearing something that looked like a dark uniform and a mask, which made everything even weirder and more confusing.

"You have to get out of here," an unknown voice spoke up with a sense of urgency and she and her friends were suddenly ushered away from the entrance and down the street towards their apartment.

"What's going on?" Mindy asked as she stopped, followed by Violet, Jack and Jacob. "Who the hell even are you?"

"That's right, mate, who the hell are you?" Violet added, turning around to face the culprits. She was looking at a young woman with the wildest bush of hair she had seen, a tall and lanky ginger bloke and a somewhat chubby blonde.

"We are the ones who just saved your bloody life, Potter," the ginger snarked at her and then it dawned on her.

"Mysterious strangers I've never seen before who somehow know my name? Fuck me, I thought I'd finally be done with your lot," Violet huffed angrily.

"Wait, what'd you mean you saved Vi's life? Who was that bloke?" Jacob asked, looking around nervously.

"Not now!" the bushy-haired woman hissed. She looked very impatient. "There could be more Death Eaters around!" She then started walking in the direction towards their apartment. "We have to go to your place and talk with Sirius Black. We know you have the other piece of Mr Black's two-way mirror."

"How do you even know where we live?" Jack asked, suspicious, but Violet already knew the answer.

"You twats spied on us! Holy shite, you have no shame, do ya?!" Violet shook her head in disbelief. "And how do I even know you aren't out for my head, hmm?! How do I know you aren't one of those –," she stopped for a giggle, "– _Death Eaters_?" Violet kept on giggling. "Stupid fucking name..."

"We know your godfather, Potter," the ginger offered.

" _So_?"

"Can we please go to your place already?" The woman was clearly starting to get _really_ impatient. "If we wanted to hurt you or abduct you we'd have done so forever ago!"

"I dunno," Jacob shook his head, "not really good enough."

"I agree with Jacob," Mindy added and Jack nodded in agreement with them.

"Yeah, nah." Violet had her arms crossed. "what you just said sounds like something someone who wants to hurt me would say to gain my trust and hurt me later."

"Exactly!" Jacob held his hand up for Violet to high-five him, which she immediately did.

"Is this real?" The ginger asked the so-far silent blonde.

"We seriously have no time for this. Whether you follow me or not, I don't care, I can get inside your apartment with or without you," the woman huffed, her patience finally reaching its end.

"That's breaking and entering. A crime, you know. The kind of thing when people go and call the bobbies," Violet said.

"Vi, we can't! Our weed's everywhere. We'd land in the nick before they would," Jack reminded her.

"Fuck me, these wankers are making me _angry_." Violet groaned but begrudgingly went home with the three magical people behind her, the sole woman of the trio annoyingly smug.

After a while of silent but quick walking, they reached their destination and Violet unlocked the door. A few staircases later, all seven of them were finally inside the apartment, the young woman looking disapprovingly around the messy living space. Half-empty packages of junk food, empty beer bottles, ashtrays, a bong – all strewn across the living room.

Stomping into her room and returning moments later with the mirror, Violet thrust it towards the woman. "Do your bloody hocus pocus and then, _kindly_ piss off."

"No!" Mindy objected, which earned her _what-the-hell-mate?_ -look from Violet. "I want to know what you meant when you said you saved Vi's life."

"They tried to abduct you with a portkey," the blonde said, speaking for the first time.

Violet looked at him, a blank expression on her face. "And what's that supposed to be?"

"It can be any object of your choice. You can charm it in a certain way that it activates under certain conditions, like at a specific time. If the Death Eater had touched you with his portkey, you would have been sent straight into their base of operations," the woman explained.

Mindy was clutching Violet's arm tightly and gave the three magic people a grateful look. "Thank you!"

"...welcome," the ginger mumbled as the tips of his ears turned red.

Violet was having none of it though. "Thank them for what? The moment they stepped into my life they piss all over it, and _now_ I have these evil dorks piss all over my life too! They brought their bloody problems into my life and now they want me to solve their bloody war for them because some bloody comic book villain believes in some bloody prophecy!"

Mindy placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I agree with you Vi, this whole shitshow is not fair at all, but you could have been gone at this very moment if it wasn't for them!"

Violet didn't say anything and just opted to scowl angrily as she went to her room and returned with her bag of weed and rolling papers. She then sat down and rolled herself a joint.

"That's illegal! And disgusting!" the woman said in a high pitched voice.

"What's illegal and disgusting," Violet began before moistening one end of the paper with her tongue and starting to roll her joint, "is being stalked by bloody strangers who want to drag me into their magic war." After lighting it, she took a deep drag before she turned to the girl. "What's that evil bloke's phone number? I'm gonna send him a message."

The woman rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance while also trying to fan the smoke away from her. Giving up, she opted to just open the living room window. "There are no phones in the wizarding world. We use letters sent by owls."

A single chuckle escaped Violet. With a shake of her head, she took a pen and ripped a sheet of paper from the paper block on the coffee table, then wrote something on it. Once finished, she handed it to the blonde bloke. "Give that to the evil bloke. I'm sure he'll leave me alone once he reads it."

" _Dear evil bloke_ ," the blonde guy began to read out loud, "...P? L? S? What does that mean?" he asked Violet's friends, of which Mindy was busy rolling herself a joint.

"It means 'please'," Jack explained from the kitchen as he took out four beers and a plate of leftover pizzas from the day before, probably for Violet.

The chubby blonde nodded in thanks. "Thank you. _Pls stay away from me. Just wanna mind my own biz. I dont care about profesees. Good luck doing ur thing, mate_."

Violet looked proud and earned herself a fist bump from a now toking Mindy.

"I'm going to call Sirius now. I can't deal with this any longer." the woman mumbled.

"What're your names, by the way?" Jack suddenly asked before taking a sip from his beer. "I'm Jack Lawson, that's Jacob Warner and that's Mindy White. You obviously know Vi."

"Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger," the blonde introduced himself and his two companions with a smile.

"...no, Mr Black, they are all fine. We stunned the Death Eater and went to their apartment." Violet heard Hermione speak into the mirror and, to her and her friends' surprise, it spoke back.

Vi didn't try to listen in any more than that, though. Instead, she just enjoyed the beautiful feeling of not quite being high, but not being sober either, while the murmur of the everyone present washed over her.

The perfect place.


	5. The Burrow

"Aw, that's sweet Jack," Violet said when she took notice of the leftover pizza after putting out her joint for later use. "Won't say no to pizza," she added before taking a bite.

"I just know you," Jack shrugged after taking a slice for himself and, soon enough, Mindy, after putting out her joint and stashing it in her cigarette pack, joined them, as did Jacob.

Violet heard mumbling from the window and turned around to see the wizard-woman, whose name, apparently, was Hermione, according to the introductions made moments ago, not move her mouth as a voice could barely be made out coming from her direction. "I think she's seriously talking through the mirror. Kinda freaky."

"I wonder how that mirror works. Is it like in Snow White?" Mindy asked, before scrunching her nose at the pizza. "I completely forgot we had so many slices of this pizza left because it sucked."

"Mirror mirror in my hand, why is this pizza so fucking bland?" Violet joked, causing Mindy to get into a fit of giggles, which she soon joined in.

"It's fucking bland," Jacob said, doing his best Gordon Ramsay impression, looking at his slice in disgust and causing Violet and Mindy to lose themselves even more in their giggles. "Such a shame."

After a few moments, Hermione returned from her chat, not looking particularly happy.

"What's with that look, Hermione?" the Ginger boy, Ron, asked her.

"Well...it looks like our high-as-a-kite saviour and her friends are coming with us and I doubt this is a good idea, no matter how I look at it."

"Two things," Violet began with two fingers held up. "First, we are nowhere near high. Second, we are going nowhere."

"I'm not thrilled either, trust me, but your godfather wants you safe, which you definitely are not anymore."

"An-"

Before Violet could even finish one word, a loud bang made her jump with a startled yelp.

"Violet," Sirius greeted his goddaughter. "This is Remus Lupin, but right now we don't have time. If one Death Eater –," he ignored Violet's giggle, "– is already here then there will be more and they might know where you live. Pack some clothes and essentials, then we will take you somewhere safe."

The foursome of friends looked at each other in confusion. Violet then looked back at the magic people in utter disbelief. "Are you for real?"

"As real as it gets."

"Thanks, but no, thanks. Piss off, you will not steal our lives from us."

"Violet," Sirius took a step towards her but Violet got up and took a step back, "this is not a game. Your actual life, the lives of your friends are in danger here. Those people are ruthless. They torture and kill without care. Even if you don't trust us, then at least give us the benefit of a doubt for the sake of your friends' safety." He took another step forward but this time Violet didn't move. " _Please_."

"Guys?" Violet asked after she turned around to face Mindy, Jack and Jacob.

"I'm wherever you are, Vi," Mindy smiled in response, though her fear of being in potentially life-threatening danger was visible in her stiffened posture.

"I'm with Mindy there," Jack stated and Jacob nodded in agreement.

"Alright then," Violet sighed in resignation, "it seems we have little choice anyway since those _twats_ ," she turned to glare at the magic people, "basically showed where we live to those other twats." She kept glaring at the magic people, the tired and shabby looking Remus Lupin with his brows raised and an amused smile gracing his features. "Just so we are clear: I will not be your soldier or some shite. _You_ people clean this mess you brought into _my_ life."

"She's certainly got spirit," Violet could hear Lupin comment drily as she and her friends went into their respective rooms to pack some things.

She carelessly stuffed some undies and other clothing into an old bag of hers, before thinking of something important. She quickly poked her head out of the room: "You blokes don't happen to know if there's some way to get weed in your fantasy world, do you?"

"What is 'weed'?" Remus asked, his voice softer and kinder than Violet expected.

Rolling her eyes, she just shook her head. "Nevermind. This is going to be a long stay."

After some more time had passed, Violet and her friends came out of their rooms, all carrying a bag or two stuffed with clothing and other things they deemed essential.

"One thing left," Jacob said, then moved to the Nintendo console to unplug it.

"That won't work around magic," Hermione explained and earned herself four shocked reactions.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hermione shrugged awkwardly. "Electronic devices don't work around magic."

"The hell are you people doing all day without electricity?!" Violet asked, a pained look on her face. "What are we going to do all day? No weed, no electricity...is there at least a way to buy cigarettes?" she asked almost pleadingly.

"I'm sure we can find a way to... _feed your addiction_ ," Hermione answered, Sirius sharing her disapproving look.

"I sure fucking hope so..." Violet muttered, her tone snarky. "Alright, let me send this message to our boss," she said while quickly typing a text message on her phone before pocketing it and returning her attention to the magic people. "We are ready. What now?"

"Now you will side-along-apparate with us, which means you will hold onto us, and your bags, as tightly as you can. You will not, under any circumstances, let go or the consequences can be disastrous," Remus Lupin explained.

"Sounds like a fun way to travel," Violet commented, her sarcasm clear.

"It doesn't sound very inviting, does it?" Remus chuckled in good humour. "You should also be aware that the first few times can be very unpleasant to the stomach; so much so, you could end up having to empty your stomach, especially during side-along apparition."

"I doubt it'll be as bad as drunk-throwing-up," Jacob commented. Violet and the others nodded sagely.

Sirius clapped his hands together. "Alright, let's get going then!"

Violet and her friends picked their apparition-partners for themselves, Violet just going with Sirius, even though she was still cross with him because of his last 'visit'. Still, he was the one she knew the most out of the magic group. Mindy went with Remus, Jack with Hermione and Jacob with Ron.

"Everyone ready? Hold on as tightly as possible and _do not let go_. Let's go, then."

Violet had never once in her life wondered what it would feel like to be pressed through an impossibly tight tube, but here she was, learning the answer to that very question. Seconds later she appeared on a large field and dropped to her hands and knees. Her legs were shaking so much that they had given in immediately. Dry heaving several times, a pitiful whimper left her before the queasiness in her stomach subsided.

"This is literally the worst way _ever_ to travel." Her voice sounded impossibly weak and shaky.

"You don't know floo yet," her godfather chuckled.

After a few moments of recuperation, her friends got back on shaky feet, as did she.

"Everybody alright? No splinching?" Sirius asked into the round before he got his confirmations that everybody was fine.

"What's splinching?" Mindy asked warily, her features still paler than they usually were.

"It's when you failed to apparate successfully and leave something behind. It can range from clothing to body parts," Hermione explained.

"Body... _parts_?" Jacob gulped, his voice quivering.

Violet just shook her head and decided she definitely needed a smoke, Mindy following suit.

"Yes, well, nothing has happened and you are all healthy. That's what's important." Sirius chuckled awkwardly, then pointed towards a building that looked as if it had been a large stone pigpen once and now was a house with rooms built on top of it. "That is the Weasley home, the Burrow, and where you will stay for the night."

It looked so crooked and unstable, Violet was wondering how it all had not collapsed on top of each other yet while she was enjoying her smoke.

"That looks kinda...impossible," Jack said after taking some time to take in the sight of the crooked house.

"It's held up by magic," Ron explained as they were closing in on his family home. "It's completely safe and nothing has ever happened."

"Kind of hard to believe," Jacob said.

Hermione smiled at them. "It's only natural to think so. Magic defies everything you've been taught and have experienced throughout your whole life, after all."

Violet felt really far out of her comfort zone and comfort was what she really craved right now; the comfort of their apartment, of the cars driving past their building, of the drunks she could hear from her bed singing in the night.

These magic people thought she belonged here, but they couldn't be off any farther than they already were. There was no sense of belonging the way she felt when she stepped inside her apartment to the smell of cigarettes, weed, beer and junk food. This was not home, this was not her world.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked her.

She shook her head with a humourless chuckle. "Yeah. Perfect." With a huff, Violet jogged to catch up with Mindy, who seemed to take things better than her.

"Y'know, Vi...I never imagined I'd ever be in a magic world," Mindy said with a beaming face as she looped her arm through Violet's.

"I'm glad you are so accepting of this," Violet sighed after she took a last drag and flicked the butt away from her, as did Mindy after taking a couple of quick drags. They ignored the angry grumbling behind them and the flash of light which illuminated the night for not even a second.

They arrived in front of the house. Violet and Mindy, with their two boys, kept a bit of a distance, as Sirius and Remus, followed by the younger magic people, stepped in first, announcing their arrival.

Stepping inside, the first thing Violet noticed was how cluttered everything looked. There were so many different things going on in a space that just didn't seem big enough for everything.

The second thing she noticed was the plump woman in the kitchen, hastily dishing up some snacks and Violet's eyes widened at the knives cutting up things by themselves. It was an eerie sight.

"Ah, Molly. It really wasn't necessary for you to prepare food at this time in the night," Sirius said, ushering the rest of them into the kitchen. Ron kissed his mother on the cheek while snatching a slice of ham from the cutting board.

"Nonsense, Sirius. These poor things must be overwhelmed with everything and a small snack can do wonders," the woman said, turning around to greet them all. "I'm sure you children could use something to eat, please take a seat."

They all awkwardly mumbled their thanks and went to the kitchen table, sitting down, not sure what to do with themselves. It was all unbelievably foreign and strange and just felt like a crazy dream. Moments later, a large plate with various sandwiches appeared in front of them, followed by a "please help yourselves!" from Ron's mother. They looked at each other and, with a shrug, reached for a sandwich after Ron, Hermione and Neville had already done so, followed by Sirius and Remus, the magic non-Weasleys obviously already very familiar with this place.

Violet took a bite of the sandwich and her eyes immediately widened at the flavours. It was such a simple thing she had made for herself a million times and yet, the tastes were so vastly different. Mrs Weasley's sandwich was actual art in her mouth.

"Oh my go', ish ish sho goo' I cuh cry!" Violet exclaimed with her first bite still in her mouth. She looked at her friends to see if they had similar reactions and they did.

"You must be a master chef, ma'am!" Jacob deduced seriously as he looked at Mrs Weasly, who just blushed at the praise and waved him off.

"Thank you, dear, but it was nothing."

All of them were in awe over how something so simple could taste so incredible, but their moment of joy was overshadowed by the suddenly flaring fireplace they hadn't even realized was there until now. The sudden green blaze, out of which she saw an actual person step out, had her so surprised she just sat there with her sandwich halfway through to her mouth, with her mouth hanging wide open as she stared at the man who just stepped out of the fireplace.

"What. The. _Hell_."

"Miss Potter," the old man greeted her with a gentle, grandfatherly smile, "I am glad to see you having arrived safe and sound, as have your friends."

Violet and her friends stared at him, their food was forgotten. Then, Violet had to chuckle. "Before coming here, if someone had asked me what I'd imagine a wizard to look like, I'd have described someone like you."

"I must admit, I do fulfil a lot of stereotypes." The man chuckled in good humour with a twinkle in his eyes. He then turned to Mrs Weasley. "I hope it wouldn't be too much to ask to intrude on your hospitality a little longer, Molly?"

"Of course not, Professor!"

"Then, may we make use of your living room? There are some things I must discuss with these four that I am afraid cannot wait until tomorrow."

"Please, go ahead!"

The Professor thanked her and, after Violet, Mindy, Jake and Jacob were done with their sandwiches, they followed the old wizard into the living room.

They gaped for a moment after the Professor conjured an incredibly comfortable looking chair for himself out of literally nothing. Once their surprise had subsided, they took their own seats.

"Sirius, Remus, you may join us if you wish so. I am sure Miss Potter would not mind a familiar face or two."

"Of course!" Sirius readily agreed but Violet just looked irritated.

"What about us, Professor?" Ron asked, earning him a disbelieving look and slap on his arm from Hermione. "We know all that's going on already, so it'd be no big deal!"

"That would be up to our guests and Miss Potter here."

"Doesn't matter to me," Violet shrugged, "but these three familiar faces," she pointed at her friends, "are all the familiar faces I need, mate."

Hermione, Ron, Neville, Remus and Sirius all coughed uncomfortably in their fists.

"Of course, Violet. May I call you Violet?"

"Whatever."

"And your friends?"

"Mindy, Jacob and Jack," Violet pointed them all out as they squirmed under the piercing gaze of the old man.

"Well, I suppose I should welcome you three into our secret little world," the Professor gave them a kind smile. "I am Professor Albus Dumbledore and I am the headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I hope you will appreciate the privilege of us taking you in as it is usually our custom to keep muggles – people without any magic abilities – away from our world as long as they don't have magic children. Which is," he added with a chuckle, "not so much out of fear or us disregarding our non-magical brethren. It just became something we got used to after hiding during the witch-hunts."

"We won't say a word about this, don't worry, and thank you, really, that you are not just tossing us aside and are actually protecting us, but you kinda brought your problems with you when you barged into our lives," Jacob replied with a shrug.

"What he said," Violet pointed with her thumb at her friend. "We were doing just fine for ourselves and you people pretty much pissed all over our lives."

"Violet, maybe try to work a bit on your choice of words?" Remus tried kindly, but Violet just raised her brows at him, unimpressed.

"So, what do you want to talk with us about?" she asked the old wizard.

"It has come to my attention that you are aware of the prophecy," Dumbledore said with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, and I've already given my opinion too. It's a load of bull."

"And why do you think that? Your destined adversary is taking it quite seriously."

Violet scoffed at that. "Destined my arse. He's a fucking plank if he thinks someone saying something means shite."

"It is true that most, if not all, prophecies don't apply unless they are acted on. They usually are self-fulfilling. However, Violet," he continued, now his demeanour more serious, "he _is_ taking it seriously. So seriously in fact that he killed your parents, tried to kill you just a year after your birth and now that he has returned, has made you his priority."

"Well, you can just send him the letter I wrote earlier. You, Neville, right?" Violet turned towards the blonde bloke. "You still have it?"

"I gave it to Hermione," he shrugged.

"And I threw it away," Hermione stated with her nose high.

Violet groaned at that. "C'mon mate, why?"

"Because it was terrible and you spelt prophecy completely wrong!"

Feeling herself blush in embarrassment as she turned away, Violet muttered under her breath. "Excuse me for barely having any education... _bitch_..." The gentle squeeze on her arm from Mindy made her feel better though.

"Violet," Dumbledore drew her attention again, "I understand your apprehension to fight and we will have to address your stance in this again at a later date, but before I will take my leave there is something else I must ask of you."

"And that would be?"

"When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-"

"Why is no one saying his name?" Mindy asked, her curiosity clear.

"A good question my dear," Dumbledore smiled at her. "He wants his name to be feared, so he has cursed it to reveal the location of anyone who dares to speak it."

"That's freaky..."

"Indeed it is. Now, Violet," he looked back at her, "when he tried to kill you, he left you with a cursed scar. May I see it?"

"You mean the one shaped weirdly, like a lightning bolt?" Violet asked. "The one on my chest?"

"Exactly that one."

"Sure," she shrugged and rolled the front of her sweater up, revealing her flat and soft belly and lacy red bra for everyone to see a second later.

Ron and Neville immediately averted their eyes, but Jacob and Jack were unfazed.

"Hey, you, boys! Look away!" Sirius barked and Violet wondered why the hell he thought he could just suddenly jump in and take the role of...whatever role he was trying to take in her life.

"Chill, it's not like they haven't seen my tits a million times already." She sighed in annoyance, ignoring Sirius gaping at her in disbelief as she looked back at Dumbledore. "The scar's right there," she pointed at the faint, white lightning bolt just at the top of her right breast. "It's not always been like that, though. I remember it looking more red-ish. But since I got away from the Dursleys it's been like this. Just a normal scar with a fun shape at a fun spot."

"So very curious and not at all what I was expecting," Dumbledore muttered. "Do you remember what happened after you got away from your family?"

"First of all, they were never my family. Ever. Secondly, no, I don't. I just wanted to get away, passed out and when I woke up I was in Middlesbrough."

"I see," Dumbledore muttered again as he was still eyeing her scar. "Very well," he finally said and got up, the chair he was sitting on disappearing with a flick of the stick in his hands. "I thank you for your time, Violet. And you three too, Mindy, Jacob and Jack. I will have to take my leave now and you four should get some much-needed sleep."

They followed him outside and after a few exchanged goodbyes they were sent into their bedrooms for the night, Jacob and Jack taking the two eldest sons' bedrooms, while Ron had his own. Remus and Sirius would also stay for the night. Violet, Mindy and Hermione would have to share the single girl's bedroom, who was still at school.

At least she would finally get some shut-eye and wake up from this crazy-arse trip, she was sure of it.


	6. Arriving At A Grim Old Place

After finishing their business in the bathroom, Hermione led Violet and Mindy into the bedroom on the first-floor landing. Upon entering, they were immediately greeted by pink walls and moving posters. One showed what appeared to be a band called 'Weird Sisters', the other was of a woman called Gwenog Jones of something called the Holyhead Harpies and she was riding...

"A broomstick? You – magic people, I mean – go all out on the stereotypes, don't ya?" Violet chuckled.

"There's a sport that's played on broomsticks," Hermione explained, "and it's called quidditch. Ginny is a huge quidditch enthusiast and fan of Gwenog Jones."

"Ugh. Sports." Violet shuddered. She got too used to doing nothing all day and with the way she imagined her lungs to look, even at her young age, she doubted she'd be of much use in any sports environment anyway, but it didn't bother her. If she was ever forced to choose between being an avid smoker of cigarettes and pot or being a sporty person she knew she'd always, without fail, choose the option to just laze around and toke her troubles away.

"So...what do you think so far?" Hermione asked, obviously trying to get a conversation going with them.

Mindy gave her a questioning look in return. "About what?"

Hermione shrugged. "You know...just, our world, about magic and everything."

"It's really cool!" Mindy gushed in excitement. "I'm pretty sure I can't do anything magical, but that's okay. Just…seeing all these things I've only heard about when being read to, y'know, when I was really young...it's like a dream!"

"What about you, Violet?" Hermione asked tentatively.

Violent could only sigh. "I've had a beautiful and stable life and a place to finally call home for about two to three years. Then you people come and take it away from me. All the fancy magic in the world won't change the fact that I want my life back."

"I'm sorry...but one way or another You-Know-Who would have found you. Maybe not this year or next year, but sooner or later he would have," Hermione explained softly as Mindy gave her a sympathetic look.

Violet scoffed but didn't reply when she started to rummage for her sleeping shirt. She started to strip down to her underwear and took off her bra, letting out a sigh and stretching. "Freedom!" She groaned in relief as she gave her torso a little shake

"How can you be so... _open_?" Hermione asked while trying not to look. Violet raised a brow when she saw how flushed with embarrassment Hermione's face was.

"Dunno. I just can't think of a good reason to be ashamed or embarrassed about my body, so I don't mind showing off," Violet said. "Besides, we are all girls here. You have tits, she has tits, I have tits. What's the big deal?"

Apparently, having no argument against that logic, Hermione just started to change into her sleepwear herself before she let out a surprised gasp at the sight of the colourful flowers gracing Violet's arm. "Oh, is that a tattoo?"

"Yep." Violet grinned proudly.

"May I see it?" Hermione asked, her curiosity evident.

"Sure." Violet shrugged and pulled up the short sleeve of her shirt to reveal the whole tattoo.

"It's really big," Hermione commented.

"That's what she said," Violet muttered, making Mindy snort and Hermione roll her eyes. "And yeah, it's going to be a full sleeve once it is finished."

"A full sleeve?" Hermione wondered as she went back to take out two thin spare mattresses that were kept in Ginny's room for when Luna Lovegood and she would sleep here.

"Y'know, like, the whole arm covered," Violet explained while moving her hand up and down along her arm to indicate what she meant.

"That's got to be expensive though! And painful."

"Expensive – yes; painful – I've had worse." Violet then yawned with another stretch. She went to lie down on a mattress next to the one Mindy had picked for herself. "It's going to be so weird waking up tomorrow only to realize I'm not in my bed."

"Because you have no experience with that _at all_ ," Mindy commented dryly, earning herself a slap on the arm from Violet.

"Like you are one to talk," Violet retorted before the two of them giggled.

Hermione gaped at them, her face beet red. "Are you talking about what I think you are talking about?"

"If you think we are talking about –," Violet made a circle with her index finger and thumb of one hand and moved her index finger of the other hand in and out of that circle, "– then yes."

"So you've had...you know _...sex_?" Hermione asked, her face still very red.

"Yes...?" Mindy answered, not sure where this was going.

"Oh," was all Hermione said before the room was silent.

Mindy and Violet looked at each other before Mindy leaned up on her elbows. "Is there something you want to say or ask?"

"Merlin, no! It's just..." Hermione apparently thought about her phrasing while she was chewing on her bottom lip, "...it's just, I'm not used to that. I've always been about studying and I'm kind of insecure about myself too and the wizarding world is kind of more traditional in some regards and I don't know, I guess you being...well...like _that_ is kind of a culture shock, so to speak."

After Hermione had finished her rambling, Violet looked at her with a raised brow. "Look, I'm not sure what you were getting at most of the time, but just chill and go with the flow. As long as you are comfortable, that is."

"Is that how you live your life?" Hermione asked, lying on her side with her head held up by a hand looking down at them from the bed.

Violet shrugged. "Kinda, yeah. I mean, I didn't have much of a choice at first, once I got away from the Dursleys. I lived in the streets, a bunch of blokes taught me how to steal and stuff and from there I just went with it." She then grinned. "When I was 15, I met a cute bloke at a homeless shelter. He was one of the volunteers. We made out, he groped my tits and I liked it, so I went with it. Next thing I know, my virginity is gone...good thing he had a condom." She giggled. "With smoking cigs and weed it was pretty much the same, though I started cigs at thirteen and weed at sixteen," Violet finished, looking up at Hermione who was listening with rapt attention. "I regret nothing."

"Honestly, I don't think I could live like that," Hermione admitted.

"We managed." Mindy shrugged. "Those were fun days."

"When did you two meet?"

"When we were fourteen. I'd just ran away from home and yeah, I ended up at Vi's dosser meeting spot." Mindy smiled fondly at the memories.

"And then I taught you how to smoke." Violet chuckled.

"It sounds crazy, but, sometimes, I do miss those days in the streets. I mean, we have a nice place, a job and can live how we want, which is great, but..." Mindy, apparently not knowing how to finish her thought, just flopped her arms helplessly instead.

"I know what you mean...it was a bloody tough time, but it was special in its own way." Violet smiled at her friend. "It was the beginning of our freedom."

"That's what made it exciting, despite everything."

"But what about this?" Hermione asked. "Your family name is such a huge thing in this world! I really don't understand why you are so against even looking at what you've been missing all these years. I'd want to know about my family's legacy..."

"Nah," Violet waved her off. "I can't be bothered with that stuff. This isn't my wor-"

" _But it is_ ," Hermione insisted. "The Potters were such an influential family, I've read all about them! With the way things are happening right now, you could do so much just using the power of your last name!"

"Again, I don't care. I didn't grow up in this world, I don't know anything of this world and I honestly can't be bothered with any of that shite. I was comfortable with how my life went the past couple of years and I'll just wait until you do that evil bloke in, so I can leave magic behind once and for all," Violet finished with a glare. "I'm beat and want to sleep." She turned her back towards Hermione on the bed and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off into a fitful slumber.

* * *

After waking up and finishing her morning routine, Violet trudged downstairs, a big yawn escaping her. She hadn't slept well and it wasn't just because of this very unfamiliar and very uncomfortable environment, which she had been dragged into.

It was also because of Hermione's insistence that she had a duty to these people because of a name that meant nothing to her. So what if her parents and slash or grandparents were kind of a big deal in this fantasy world? To her, this magic setting still felt like some sort of a big, fat joke someone was pulling on her like it wasn't even a real thing. Her whole life being a Potter meant nothing to her; she might as well have not had had a last name at all.

The first years of her life she actually could remember was her being a punching bag and slave to the trash that was the Dursley family and if it hadn't been for her school she would still have thought her name was ' _You_! (first name) _Her_ (second name) _Girl_! (last name)' because she couldn't remember those people using her actual name even once. To them, Violet Potter was not even an actual person. Even now, after having escaped them for several years by now, that thought still stung terribly.

But once she got away from those monsters, she was Violet. She always told both her first and last name when asked for her name, because she liked being someone other than _You! Her Girl!_ , but people never cared for the Potter part. She never was Violet Potter or even just Potter with her dosser friends. She always was Violet, or Vi when she met Mindy.

It was the same with the Clarksons. She introduced herself as Violet Potter, but simply was Violet to them. Sometimes she was also 'sweetheart' or 'honey'. She remembered when the Clarksons had to teach her some basic secondary school grade spelling and maths and whenever she did well, Mrs Clarkson would praise her, sometimes with an affectionate ruffling of her hair, sometimes by pulling her into a quick hug. If it wasn't for Mindy being such a huggy person, she probably would have freaked out at Mrs Clarksons showing of affection, but after the first time of experiencing pet names and a kind and, yes, probably even loving touch by an adult, she couldn't deny that her eyes were stinging with emotional tears. She couldn't be blamed for that though, could she?

Mindy, Jake and Jacob too – she was just Vi or Violet. Never Potter, never Violet Potter.

The 'real world' didn't care about what her parents did or didn't do. Well, yes, it was great they loved her enough to sacrifice themselves for her, but wouldn't one expect that kind of thing from any halfway decent parent? No one was going to think _'look at these planks, they died for their daughter, those wankers'_.

But here, in this world...here she was Violet Potter, a Potter born to James and Lily Potter. The Potter who did something as a baby to save them from the big bad bloke. No one knew what she even did but she was a Potter so maybe it was important because _POTTER_.

It made her uncomfortable and she constantly felt pestered and pressured in this world and couldn't even enjoy a good night's sleep because of it.

With a sigh, she sat down next to Jacob, who hugged her in greeting, seeing her mood not being particularly great.

"Thanks, Jacob," she mumbled into his shoulder before retracting herself from him after giving his cheek a peck, scrunching her nose up at the itchy stubble he always had on his face with a small giggle. At least he could pull that look off. "Not gonna lie, I needed that," she admitted. "I feel like I'm going to suffer every day through someone trying to pester me into this fucking fantasy war."

"Language, my dear," Mrs Weasley said with a disapproving look she had kept on since Violet gave Jacob that small peck.

Violet just rolled her eyes. Bunch of bloody stuck-ups is what they were, these wizards and witches.

"Can't blame you for feeling down, Vi," Jacob shrugged, raising his hand to wave at Jack and Mindy, who just entered the kitchen. "Wouldn't want to switch places with you, magic or nah."

Violet just sighed in resignation, but her eyes lit up a bit after Jack squeezed her shoulder and Mindy hugged her tightly from behind.

This still could have been way, way worse after all. She could have been here all by herself, without her friends, the three best people she had ever met.

* * *

"Thank you, Molly, for your hospitality," Sirius said sincerely, but the plump woman waved him off with a gentle smile.

"It was nice to have someone in the rooms again. The house is too empty with all of the children growing up." It was obvious that Mrs Weasley was missing the days when her children were still young and well, just children. From what Violet had understood, the woman had seven children; six if she remembered the twin part wrong.

"While I can't relate, I understand what you are saying. It can't be easy to see them all go their own paths, one after the other," Sirius gave her a sympathetic smile, "but I imagine you are also very proud to see them grow up."

"So very," Arthur Weasley, Mrs Weasley's husband whom she had met during breakfast, nodded with a proud smile. He seemed like a nice enough bloke; a bit more laid back compared to the overbearing vibe she kept getting from Mrs Weasley.

"Now it's time to get these kids to Grimmauld Place," Sirius said, but he looked confused when hearing Violet chuckle, quickly followed by Jack and Mindy. "What?" He asked in confusion.

" _Grim_ _old_ _place_?" She chuckled again, a hand covering her mouth. "There's really a place called like that?"

Sirius just looked even more confused. "Yeah, Grimmauld Place. What's so funny about that?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Violet averted her eyes as she continued to chuckle.

"Anyway," Sirius continued, his confusion still clearly visible, "we are going to travel by floo. You remember Professor Dumbledore stepping out of the fireplace? That's floo." He then took a bowl with some sort of powder and showed it to them. "Travelling via the floo network works with floo powder. You take a pinch and throw it into the fire, state your destination in a clear and loud voice and then step into the fire. At first, you will be accompanied by Remus, Ron, Hermione and me since we don't want you guys to get lost in there," Sirius finished his explanation.

"What's the point of saying where you want to go if you can still get lost?" Jack asked with furrowed brows.

"Stating your destination activates the network at the targeted place," Remus explained, "but you have to step out on your own and many first-timers, especially those with a non-magical background, can miss what to look for."

"Ready?" Sirius asked as he moved to Violet.

"Not really, no."

"Well, doesn't matter. Just hold on tight and let me do the work," Sirius said, missing the suppressed giggle from Violet as he led them to the fireplace.

Once he threw the powder into the fire and they stepped in, Violet found herself clutching tightly onto Sirius while they were spinning wildly and, just when she thought she was going to create a tornado of vomit, the spinning stopped and they were in a large living room. She quickly removed herself from her godfather and sat down onto a sofa because she wasn't sure her shaky legs were going to support her any longer. "Can't you people have normal ways of travelling? Bloody hell..."

Before Sirius could answer Remus appeared from the fireplace with a wide-eyed Mindy who was shaking like a leaf and quickly joined Violet on the sofa, desperately trying not to puke.

A couple of minutes later the boys arrived and seemed to do better than the girls.

"Well, now that everyone's here I can officially welcome you to Grimmauld Place!" Sirius grinned with his arms spread wide.

"That's great. Where can I smoke?" Violet asked with a cigarette already in her hand, effectively deflating her godfather.

Sirius sighed at her lack of enthusiasm. "Just...I'll show you the guest room..."

Jumping up from her seat, Mindy quickly joined her friend and Sirius, which made Violet smile. She didn't miss the frown on her godfather's face.


	7. This Was My Life

Life in this Grim Old Place could be worse, Violet had to admit. Granted, she had been here for only a couple of days so far and yes, she was bored to death already, but it was a big place which looked neither grim nor old. Sirius had told them that, after his name got cleared, he had started a big renovation to make this house more inviting and overall brighter. She had to hand it to him that he certainly had been successful, even though she was cringing inside when he also revealed that this whole big renovation idea of his was done with her in mind, for when she would move in with him. He even had a room for her prepared and ready and, Violet, after seeing his eager and hopeful grin, just could not find it in her to criticize the bright pink colour of the walls.

Overall, the house still lacked a certain charm. Too clean, too big, too fancy – things that Violet simply was not used to. They obviously were not pigs who never cleaned their apartment, but sometimes the packages of their junk food and the dirty dishes did pile up very unfairly fast and they did have a set cleaning day. Up to that point, they were just too lazy, all four of them.

Violet also learned some interesting facts about ancient magic families and the Blacks in particular. According to Hermione, the Blacks were a very old family that prided itself in having a pure bloodline, although, if they did not find any suitable partners to marry their children off to, they did not mind to marry cousins off to each other and they weren't the only pureblood family doing that, just the most extreme. Anything to keep their bloodline clean, which was very ironic in Violet's opinion.

Violet was also sure that she would have already lost her mind if her friends hadn't been with her. The fact that, so far, she didn't find her stay 'that bad' was mostly due to Mindy's, Jacob's and Jack's presence. Initially, she did feel bad that their lives were also pissed on by the wizards for no other reason than their close friendship with Violet, but from what she could see they took it in stride, so she didn't pay it any further mind. She simply was grateful.

Currently, she was smoking while lying on a sofa, a tank top and shorts being her choices of clothing since this house was always at the perfect temperature.

The door to the guest room opened and in came Sirius, once again eyeing her cig disapprovingly.

"Do you want to stop giving me that look whenever you see me doing something you don't like?" Violet asked him, her tone bored.

"You know I can't," Sirius answered with a sigh. "I don't know why muggles would do something like that to themselves, but it is a dangerous and unhealthy habit."

Violet just rolled her eyes and took a drag before looking back at Sirius after exhaling the smoke. "What do you want?" She knew he wasn't here just to complain about her smoking. He could have done that a million times since she was forced to live here.

Sirius cleared his throat before sitting on a couch across from the sofa she was lying on, a fancy coffee table separating the two of them. "I wanted to see if you are doing alright."

She shrugged. "If we ignore the fact that I am bored to death, I could be doing worse."

He nodded, then cleared his throat again. "I expected as much, so I thought that maybe...you could try and learn some basics of magic you have missed."

Violet returned Sirius's hopeful smile with a blank look of her own. "How about no?"

"It's in your blood, Violet," Sirius insisted.

"Your very being is magic, whether you want to or not. I don't understand why you are so against this very fact."

"Because I don't want to be a part of this world," Violet repeated for what felt like the millionth time. "I don't understand why you can't understand that fact. I'm not speaking Chinese."

"Your parents-"

"My parents are dead, mate. Don't drag dead people into this discussion, that's not cool." This time it was Violet with the disapproving look.

After taking the last drag of her cig and putting it out in the ashtray on the coffee table, Violet sat up and stretched, a groan escaping her as a satisfying series of pops ran down her spine. "I really don't want to be your human shield when you fight against the wizard nazis, so just back off, alright?" She ran a hand through her hair before a yawn overcame her. "Like, you didn't need me until now and suddenly this bloke is back and it's all about Violet this, Violet that."

"It's not like that at all!" Sirius denied vehemently. "Whatever happened when you escaped the Dursleys...you were completely shielded. We couldn't trace you at all. Normally, your magic would have revealed you in one way or another. It could have been your trace, it could have been through Hogwarts' tracking of magical children in Britain, but nothing came up. You literally vanished and we had to search for you the old fashioned way."

Hearing that, Violet looked a bit intrigued, but also disappointed. "I honestly wished you'd just given up at some point."

Sirius shook his head. "That was not an option for me. Not once."

"And being part of your world is not an option for me. I hope you'll understand this soon because repeating myself every time we talk really starts to be annoying." Violet then got up and stifled another yawn before making her way out of the room. "I'm gonna have a look around this dump. Nothing else to do after all," she said and exited the room.

While Violet did enjoy just lying around, it was still something that would also get old real fast if there was nothing else to do while lying around. Lying around and playing video games? Yes. Lying around and watching movies and slash or crime shows? Yes. Lying around and staring at the ceiling the whole day because no normal device worked here? Hell no.

Her first couple of days she gave in to temptation and did nothing at all, but now she was bored out of her mind. The fact that Sirius disturbed her time of doing nothing was as good an excuse as any to get her arse off the couch and take a look around this place.

But first, she wanted to see if any of her friends were up to joining her little exploration.

She went back to the living room where she was hanging out with Mindy, Jack and Jacob before leaving for a smoke and, after entering the room, she dropped down on the couch next to her best friend, who was engaged in a game of Uno with the boys.

"Anyone up to exploring this place for a bit?" Violet asked before yawning loudly.

"Sure, just let us finish this round," Jacob replied, his brows furrowed in thought as he was eyeing his hand critically.

"Your godfather was looking for you, by the way," Mindy commented idly after she made Jack draw four cards.

"And he found me. He wants me to start my magic training or whatever," Violet answered in a bored tone. "I'm starting to think they actually just set me up to bring me here and there never was an evil bloke."

"That seems a bit much, even for a conspiracy theory, don't you think?" a still unfamiliar voice answered from the door's threshold.

Violet looked up and her eyes widened slightly in recognition. "Ah, you're that werewolf bloke, right?"

"Indeed," he replied with an uncomfortable smile. "May I sit?"

"Sure," Mindy indicated for the unoccupied couch then returned her attention to her hand.

Remus entered the room and headed for the couch, slowly sinking into it with a sigh. He looked somewhat pale and sickly, Violet noted. "You okay?"

"No, not really." He chuckled without humour. "As the full moon approaches, my body is preparing itself for the transformation. My senses grow sharper, which causes me to take in more sensations than a human should, something that makes for a bad migraine. My joints and muscles ache as well."

"What is the transformation like? If it's okay to ask, of course," Mindy added with a blush.

"Don't worry." Remus gave a kind smile in return. "To answer your question...it is the single most painful thing anyone could ever suffer through. You feel every bone, joint and muscle shift, every hair pierce through your skin...I wouldn't wish this upon anybody. The worst thing, though...the worst thing is that without a certain potion you will remember nothing about the transformation. Whether you changed or killed somebody...you remember nothing. Throughout the transformation, you are gone and in your place, a deadly, rabid beast is in control."

"Holy shite, that sounds like it sucks," Violet commented while chewing on her lower lip. She really felt bad for that bloke.

Remus, however, laughed at that reaction. "It does indeed suck, Violet."

A bit of a lull took over, so Violet returned her attention to her friends' game before she heard their guest shift a bit in his seat.

"Violet," he began, gaining her attention once more, "I would like to know more about you if you don't mind."

She raised her brows. "Like what? There's not much to me."

Remus just kept smiling kindly. "Just things in general. These past days since you have been found...I feel like a lot of people have missed out on you by trying to coerce you back into our world."

"Co-what?"

"To coerce someone into something means to strong-arm someone into doing something they don't want to do," Remus explained patiently.

"Well, at least one of you sees how it is." Violet nodded in appreciation, but then her eyes narrowed a bit in suspicion. "How do I know that this isn't just a different strat of yours to get me into this magic nonsense? Like some good wizard, bad wizard thing?"

Remus laughed lightly. "I assure you, I am here on my own volition. I just want to know what kind of person the daughter of my late best friend grew up to be."

Violet didn't react because she had no idea what to exactly think about this situation. There was actually one of them who was interested in more than her being their soldier?

"Nothing wrong with that, Vi," Mindy commented before yelling _"Uno!"_.

"How about this," Remus said, apparently having come up with an offer. "I ask a question and you just decide whether you want to answer or not."

"Wouldn't it have been like that anyway?" Violet asked dryly.

"I just want to make sure we are clear that I do not wish to manipulate you or to invade your privacy," he said.

" _Fine_." Violet sighed with a shrug. "Ask away."

"What was your childhood like?" Remus asked, eyeing her with genuine curiosity.

"Aiming straight for the heavy stuff, eh?" Violet chuckled and leaned back into the sofa. "I didn't have a childhood," she said softly with a frown and sigh. "I was a slave for the Dursleys and, when I wasn't, I was their punching bag. After I got away from them and ended up in Middlesbrough, I lived in the streets for about five years. So, basically, up until I was around sixteen, I didn't really have a life."

"I...was not aware," Lupin replied with a soft voice and shocked expression.

She shrugged. "I know. So, next question."

"Yes, I'm sorry." He cleared his throat. "What do you do for a living?"

"I help out at a tattoo shop every other day," she said. "You know, work the desk, clean up after hours, that kinda stuff."

Remus nodded. It certainly was nothing impressive but it was something at least. "And what do you like to do in your free time?"

"Well, what everybody else likes to do, I guess. Go out for a drink, hole up at home and binge shows on Netflix or game all day."

"What about your education?" he asked.

"Don't have one beyond primary," she said. "I lived in the streets from eleven years to when I was sixteen. Then Mr and Mrs Clarkson found me and Mindy and Jacob and offered us a job in return for an apartment, as long as we kept out of trouble."

He gave a small grin. "Trouble? As in?"

"You do know how many homeless teens become hookers and junkies right? The fact that we survived that long without falling into that hole is a miracle. I've seen so many friends overdose at fourteen and fifteen..." Violet whispered and had to wipe away a couple of angry stray tears she couldn't stop from spilling, clasping tightly at Mindy's hand, who also had a solemn look on her face.

"The worst for me was still what happened to Jenna," Jacob threw in. He found his way into their group a year before they were saved by Mr and Mrs Clarkson.

"Oh god, why did you have to bring that up?" Mindy choked out before hiding her face behind her hands.

"May I ask what happened?" Lupin asked with trepidation in his voice.

Violet gave him a once over before shrugging. He wanted to know her, _the real her_ , so she would give it to him. _This_ was her. _Her_ life and every baggage that came with it. She had fought her battle already. She didn't need more. She wanted peace and a life she could enjoy.

"Jenna was...a friend," Violet began. "A close friend. While we were okay with what we could find and steal and collect on food and money, she wasn't, so she decided to do what many other homeless girls do: she went to become a hooker. Her first night she hoped to come back to us with a load of money. Instead, it turns out she got beaten up by some bloke, raped and then choked to death. She was seventeen."

He looked even more sickly and looked at her with wide-eyed shock. "I...I'm sorry to hear that, Violet. None of us wanted-"

"It doesn't matter what you people wanted or didn't want for me!" she hissed angrily. "I don't regret my life. I regret the friends who didn't make it, but I still don't regret my life because I ended up meeting the best friends I could ever wish for," she stated firmly.

He looked at her with something in his eyes she hadn't seen a lot: with pride. "It shows a tremendous strength of character that you see it this way, Violet. I highly respect that."

"Thanks, I guess," she mumbled out awkwardly with a shrug.

"And thank you for indulging me. I was hoping for a...lighter atmosphere, so to speak, but, ultimately I think I learned quite a lot about you," Remus said, slowly getting up from the couch.

"You wanted to know about me," Violet said. " _That_ is me. _That_ was my life up until two years ago."

"I understand." He sighed. "Before I take my leave...I want you to know that I take your side in this whole involving-you-in-the-war-debate. I don't think it's fair to you. Even less so now, that I know more about the life you...have missed out on." Giving her a kind smile, he left the room with a nod, leaving her and her friends behind.

"That was nice of him," Mindy commented, still sniffling a bit after Jacob brought their late friend Jenna up earlier.

Violet watched him head towards what she assumed to be the kitchen, before shaking her head and leaning back into the sofa she was sitting on. "I didn't expect that. He seems like an alright bloke compared to the others though. It makes me suspicious."

"You guys never told me about that Jenna friend," Jack said as he looked at them with curiosity.

"We didn't want to talk about it," Jacob explained. "I didn't even know her for that long, but even in the year or so I got to know her she was amazing. Vi and Mindy knew her for...how long?" He looked at the two girls.

"Three and a half years for me, two and a half for Mindy," Violet answered.

"So they were really close. Losing someone that way..."

Mindy let out a pained sigh. "It was the worst feeling. And we told her so many times not to do it, that we are doing okay. But she felt responsible for us because she was the oldest. She wouldn't listen."

"Did they catch the bloke?" Jack asked them and Violet just laughed humorlessly.

"Who gives a shite about a hooker?"

No one could give an answer to that.

* * *

"What's this?" Violet asked, staring at the moth-eaten velvet curtain covering something in the hall of her godfather's home.

"Did he forget this when renovating?" Mindy asked.

Jack shook his head. "Don't think so. You can't miss it, it's literally right there as soon as you enter."

"Let's see what's under it." Violet grinned at her friends and pulled the curtain open.

She expected a lot of things, but the portrait of a shrieking and spitting old woman was not it.

"Filth! Dirt! Mudbloods!"

The woman was hurling so many insults at them, they could barely keep up. Violet then turned to Jacob.

"You got a sharpie on you?"

"You know I always do. Why though?" he asked, even as he was fishing for it in his jeans pocket before handing it to Violet.

She took it with a grin and turned to the shrieking portrait. "I want to give this bitch something to stuff her mouth with."

Once finished, she turned to her friends with her arms spread wide. " _Ta-da_!"

They all laughed at the big penis drawn right at the corner of the woman's mouth.


End file.
